Waterbury is located between the Green Mountains to the west
and the Worcester Mountain Range to the east. Rugged, steep slopes,
and sharp crested hills characterize the Green Mountains. Ricker
Mountain, at approximately 3400 feet, is the highest point in
the Town. The Worcester Mountain range has narrow valleys, plateaus,
and steep slopes. The highest point in the Worcester range is
Mount Hunger at 3,539 feet. The Winooski River, which flows west
through the Green Mountains, forms the southwest boundary of Waterbury.
The River and the low flat land on either side of the River forms
a valley. A number of rivers and brooks in Waterbury flow southward
and empty into the Winooski River. Little River Dam, in the central
area of the Town, was built for flood control. The damming created
the Waterbury Reservoir.
Waterbury Town and Village have 49 square miles (31,360 acres)
of land. Waterbury Town has approximately 47 square miles (30,080
acres).
Waterbury Center is the Village area of the Town. Surrounding
the Village Common are the Waterbury Grange, a post office, a
general store, and several residences. Nearby is the Green Mountain
Seminary, which is listed on the national Register of Historic
Places, and houses the Town library.
Below are descriptions of the community.
Residential
Waterbury Town is primarily a residential community and has approximately
1200 acres of land in residential use and approximately 8,000
additional acres available for residential growth, according to
Waterbury Town records. housing density is greatest in the Waterbury
Center area. Some residences are located along Route 100; however,
other scattered concentrations of residences are located along
Blush Hill, Greg Hill, North Hill, Barnes Hill, Loomis Hill, Perry
Hill and Kneeland Flat. There are a variety of housing types in
Waterbury: single family units, duplex units, apartments and condominiums.
Commercial
Commercial businesses are located along Routes 2 and 100 and in
Waterbury Center. There are a variety of small businesses for
both residents' and tourists' needs. Waterbury Village is the
nearest commercial area with a large grocery store, department
store, book store, banks, etc.
Expanded Commercial Summary
Agricultural
There are approximately 1300 acres of land currently in agricultural
use and 7 active farms of various sizes located throughout the
Town. Most of these farms are dairy farms. The types of crops
grown are corn and hay.
The Vermont Current Use Taxation Program enables owners of productive
forest or agricultural land to be taxed at "use value".
This land is managed by a plan developed by the State and the
landowner. Currently, there are 247 acres of Waterbury agricultural
land in this Program.
State Forest Land
Within Waterbury Town there are 13,023.8 acres of State owned
forest land managed by the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation.
This is approximately 43% of the total Town acreage. The portion
of Mt. Mansfield State Forest in Waterbury is 12,434.8 acres.
The Waterbury portion of Putnam State Forest is in 2 parcels and
totals 589 acres. A map is on the following page.
The Department has developed a plan with which to manage the resources
of the land for the greatest benefit of the people with respect
to the capability of the resources. To facilitate management of
the land, the Department divides the forest into blocks which
follow major geographic boundaries; i.e. watershed, major mountain
range. A management plan is written for each block.
Mt. Mansfield State Forest is divided into four blocks: Blush
Hill, Cotton Brook, Ricker, and Woodward Hill. Putnam State Forest
is divided into the Burt hollow and Perry Hill blocks.
The plan for each block includes an inventory, goals, and implementation
strategy. Generally, there are four areas that the Department
will be working on over the next several years. First, the Department
will continue to promote recreational activities in appropriate
areas. Activities which are currently ongoing in the forest land
include camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing, snowmobiling,
and cross country skiing. Second, the Department will protect
the wildlife habitats; especially deer wintering yards. Third,
it will promote sound management of natural resources, such as
fragile areas, waterways, and timber. Fourth, the Department will
protect natural and manmade areas of the environment which constitute
scenic and historic areas.
The State makes a tax payment to the Town on this forest land.
The tax payment is either 1% of the fair market value as determined
by the Vermont Division of Property Valuation and Review or 1%
of the current use value (on 25 acres or more of managed forest
land), whichever is less.
Private Forest Land
In addition to the 13,023.8 acres of State forest land, there
are approximately 4,000 acres of forest land in private ownership
spread throughout the community. The Vermont Current Use Taxation
Program enables owners of productive forest or agricultural land
to be taxed at "use value". This land is managed by
a plan developed by the State and the landowner. Currently, there
are 1,107 acres of privately owned forest land in Waterbury in
this Program.
Industrial
Waterbury Town industries: the Karl Suss manufacturing plant and
Cold hollow Cider Press are located along the Route 100 corridor.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory is located along Route 100
in Waterbury Village, just south of the Waterbury Town line.
Conservation
Currently the Town does not own any conservation land. However,
there are scattered areas within the Town, which are currently
zoned as conservation areas.
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