| Benson is a small town in central Vermont. It has been the scene of a number of religious revivals in the past, including various incidents with the Congregational Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Today, it's a peaceful farming town which borders New York state on the west and is near Rutland, Vermont.
According to Tompson's History of Vermont, which was written in 1842, Benson was named for a Revolutionary War officer of the same name who was admired by one of the grantees. Hemenway's Gazetteer of Rutland County in 1877 claims it was named after Egbert Benson, a New York commissioner who helped negotiate New York's claim on Vermont's land before it joined the Union. Today, it is thought that these are two part of the same story. Egbert Benson was a dedicated Revolutionary patriot from New York and it is possible that one of the grantees knew him during the American Revolutionary War and named the town after him as he was a well known lawyer and judge who later went on to found the New York Historical Society.
Fast Facts:
- Chartered: May 5, 1780
- Area: 43.36 Square Miles
- Coordinates: 73°19'W 43°43'N
- Altitude: 420 Feet Above Sea Level
- Population (2000 Census): 1,039
Sources:
http://www.vtliving.com/towns/benson/
http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/benson.html
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