Geography
Rutland is located at 43°46' North, 72°59 West, elevation 164.6 m (540 ft.) 1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 50.71 km² (19.58 mi²)
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 4,038 people, 1,691 households, and 1166 families residing in the town. The population density is 79.61/km² (206.2/mi²). There are 1,761 housing units at an average density of 289.0/km² (94.49/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.7% White, 0.4% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.3% Asian, none are Pacific Islander, 0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. 0.7% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,691 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% are married couples living together, 8.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% are non-families. 26.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 2.85.
In the town the population is spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 45.4 years. For every 100 females there are 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $20,269, and the median income for a family is $41,961. Males have a median income of $30,846 versus $22,131 for females. The per capita income for the town is $16,807. 14.7% of the population and 12.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.8% are under the age of 18 and 11.1% are 65 or older.
History
The town was originally granted in 1761 as one of the New Hampshire Grants and named after Rutland, Massachusetts, the home of the first grantee, John Murrey. It was one of the most successful of those grants because of the excellent farmland and gentle topography.
In the early 1800s, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. As fate would have it, the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world. This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that the present Rutland City was incorporated as a village, most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor, which between them contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Proctor was named for and almost completely owned by Senator Redfield Proctor. In 1892 Rutland City was incorporated, and the remaining town of Rutland that encircled it was primarily rural.