Orleans, Vermont 1.35

Orleans is a village in the northwestern corner of Barton, Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 826 at the 2000 census, making it the largest village in Orleans County.HistoryRoger Enos purchased land in 1820 in the area from Ira Allen, who had been given original grants in the area but may have purchased this parcel from Herman Allen. It was named "Barton Landing", as a reminder that this was the first place where craft could be safely loaded for transportation down the Barton River to Lake Memphremagog. The place was where the Willoughby River entered the Barton River, providing sufficient water for flotationIn 1833, the Valley House was built as a restaurant and tavern. In 1875 twenty rooms were added for an inn. The building was destroyed by fire in 1998.The railroad reached the town in 1859–1860. Railroad accidents were not uncommon. On November 9, 1909, a crew member was killed in a head-on collision between two locomotives, just north of the rail intersection with Main Street. Near the same place, on March 12, 1913, another head-on collision killed one of the crew.The town changed its name to Orleans in 1908 by popular vote, to the name of the county.In the late 1970s, the federal and state governments stopped the village from dumping raw sewage into the Barton River. Orleans' new treatment plant cost $2.8 million, 90% of which was paid for by state and federal governments. The village was able to disconnect its old storm sewers from the sanitary sewage system.