Richmond, Vermont, sits along the Winooski River on a natural east-west corridor used by the Abenaki for 10,000 to 12,000 years, and archaeologists have established a fall hunting site used around 1500 AD at the mouth of the Huntington River. Richmond was created by an act of the Vermont Legislature on October 27, 1794, from parts of New Huntington, Williston, and Jericho, and a small section of Bolton was annexed on October 25, 1804. Near this site, Richmond's first meeting house, a 16-sided church, was built in 1812 on land donated by Issac Gleason and Thomas Whitcomb by a group led by William Rhodes. Its first proprietors belonged to five denominations: Baptist, Christian, Congregational, Methodist, and Universalist. The town's first businesses were located nearby, and Richmond was also a stopping point for early travelers on the Winooski Turnpike between Burlington and Montpelier. Town meetings were held in the church for 160 years, until 1973, when it was closed because of structural problems and for restoration. After the railroad was completed in 1849, the town center shifted north. Maintained by the Richmond Historical Society and staffed by volunteers, the National Historic Landmark is used for tours, meetings, ecumenical services, weddings, and concerts.
