Most of Monkton was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Its Register listings are the Monkton Town Hall, the Monkton Borough Baptist Church and the East Monkton Church. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Monkton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monkton is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monkton’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Monkton’s 15.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1762.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Monkton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Iron ore deposits around Monkton provided iron for cannonballs used by Macdonough's fleet, which was built in Vergennes during the War of 1812.
Quaker minister Joseph Hoag and his wife Huldah Hoag are buried in the Quaker cemetery in Monkton Boro.
Monkton's observance of the U.S. Bicentennial began with a number of small community projects which culminated with a two-day extravaganza on August 21 and 22, 1976. The first of the preliminary projects was to place American flags on all the veterans' graves in the town cemeteries, with the second the making of over forty quilts. Finally, two banners were made to announce the upcoming weekend of events.
Passages that mention Monkton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886Read the page →
Read the text
John Ferguson settled in that portion of the original town of Monkton which was afterward set off to Starksboro. At an early day he represented the town in the Legislature. He has descendants now living in Starksboro. Others who lived in this neighborhood were the following: Richard and Samuel Barnum; Stephen Haight, who settled on the place now occupied by Norman Finney.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 631Read the page →
Read the text
At about the same date as the settlement of Bidwell and Kellogg, John Ferguson located in the vicinity of the present village at Starksboro, building his house in what was the town of Monkton. He subsequently represented that town in the Legislature three years, and then, becoming impressed with the fact of the inconvenience it caused the people east of Hogback Mountain to reach the business center of that town, used his influence towards getting a tract lying west of the mountain annexed to Starksboro. His endeavors were successful, as mentioned on another page, making him a resident of this town.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Monkton, 1762 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1762, according to Wikidata. Monkton’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 450 people here in 1790.
How does Monkton rank for history?
Monkton is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Monkton?
Three places: the Monkton Town Hall (listed 1978), the Monkton Borough Baptist Church (1989) and the East Monkton Church (2023).
How old are the homes in Monkton?
9% of Monkton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1988.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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