MONTPELIER, a town of Washington co., Vermont, capital of the county and state, situated on the Onion river, here spanned by a substantial bridge, and on the Central Vermont and the Montpelier and Wells River railroads, 150 m. N. N. W. of Boston, in lat. 44° 17′ N., lon. 72° 36′ W.; pop. in 1870, 3,023. It is built on a plain near the centre of the state, and is surrounded by a highly cultivated hilly country. The principal village is compactly built. The state house is a fine edifice of light-colored granite, erected at a cost of $150,000 on the site of the former capitol, which was burned in 1857. It stands on a slight eminence, approached from a common by granite steps in terraces. It is built in the form of a cross, the main building being 72 ft. long and each of the wings 52 ft. The main building is 113 ft. deep, and 124 ft. high to the top of the dom'e, which is surmounted by a graceful statue of Ceres. The court house is also a fine structure. Montpelier has an active trade with the surrounding country, and contains several flour mills, saw mills, tanneries, an iron foundery, an extensive machine shop, and manufactories of sash and blinds, carriages, cabs and sleds, hats and caps, furniture, &c. There are two banks, three insurance companies, nine public and three private schools, four weekly newspapers (two of which publish a daily edition during the session of the legislature), and seven churches. The state library contains 14,690 volumes. The town is the seat of the Vermont Methodist seminary and female college, organized in 1869. A history of Montpelier by D. P. Thompson was published in 1860 (8vo, Montpelier).
State Capitol, Montpelier.