History of Sheffield

Sheffield, a hill town located in Northern Caledonia County, is one of three counties often referred to as Vermont's "Northeast Kingdom". The Town was chartered in 1793. With the arrival of the first settlers at that time, farming and logging provided the economic basis for the town's population during the first 150 years of its existence.

Jessie Gilbert, Vermont Surveyor, first laid out the town in the 1780s and it contained 24,000 acres, more or less. In 1792, the Vermont Legislature altered the boundaries of the Town by transferring 960 acres (+ or -) of land to the Town of Wheelock. In 1853, the Town's boundaries were altered again when 3000 acres (+ or -) of land were transferred to Barton. Then, in the 1960s, additional acreage was taken in order to construct a portion of the national interstate highway system, Interstate Highway 91. As a result of these transfers, Sheffield is now smaller in area than originally laid out--- approximately 20,900 (+ or -) of land.

The U.S. Census of 1800 shows a population of 171 people in Sheffield divided among 29 households. Following that modest figure, the population grew throughout most of the nineteenth century. The U.S. Census of 1880 shows a population of 884 people among 205 households--- the largest population to date. Thereafter, the population dropped steadily until 1967 when there were only 293 residents. Since that time, there has been a slow but consistent increase in population. The U.S. Census of 2000 shows a population of 726 people. The U.S. Census of 2010 reports a total population of 703 people in 283 households.