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2 Demographics 3 History 4 See also 5 External Links |
Geography
Rutland is located at 43°36' North, 72°59' West, elevation 164.6 m (540 ft.) 1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.87 km² (7.67 mi²).
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 17,292 people, 7,452 households, and 4209 families residing in the city. The population density is 870.3/km² (2254.5/mi²). There are 7,452 housing units at an average density of 289.0/km² (94.49/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 98.6% White, 0.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 7,452 households out of which 21.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% are married couples living together, 12.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% are non-families. 36.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.22 and the average family size is 2.80.
In the city the population is spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39.3 years. For every 100 females there are 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,478, and the median income for a family is $41,561. Males have a median income of $29,457 versus $23,688 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,075. 15.4% of the population and 10.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 30.1% are under the age of 18 and 10.5% are 65 or older.
History
The city was simply a small hamlet called Mill Village in the town of Rutland in the early part of the Nineteenth century. 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 center of town was incorporated as Rutland village, and most of the town was split off as West Rutland and Proctor, which contained the bulk of the marble quarries. Rutland City was incorporated as Vermont's third city on November 18, 1892. Since that time, Rutland has grown into the major urban center of southern Vermont. Although the closing of the marble quarries in the area in the 1980s and 1990s cost the area many jobs, Rutland has remained a vibrant small city.