Click to enlarge

North of Burlington lies the multi-faceted town of Colchester. A broad spectrum of neighborhoods, light industry, commercial, and recreation has created a community that serves a variety of interests and lifestyles among those who live or work within its boundaries.

Colchester Village, the former town center near the intersections of Routes 7 and 2A, is reminiscent of a New England Village, with picturesque homes in a variety of historic styles clustered around the church, library, and the former town hall. The official town center is now located on Blakely Road in Mallets Bay.

The population of Mallets Bay, one of Lake Champlain's largest and most beautiful bays, becomes a hive of activity each summer. Lined with summer camps, campgrounds, and marinas, a wealth of activities are available for boating and sailing enthusiasts. Recreational activities at Bayside Park's public beach, tennis and shuffleboard courts, ball fields, and senior center attract all ages.

A variety of neighborhoods reflect the lifestyles of the inhabitants. The area around Porters Point and Mills Point finds summer camps on the lakeshore, with contemporary year round homes in the surrounding neighborhoods. On the hillsides above Mallets Bay, upscale homes take advantage of the incredible lake views. On the opposite side of town, Fort Ethan Allen, a former cavalry installation, has been restored, its Officer's Row converted into privately owned condominiums prized for their spaciousness and ambience. The north end of Colchester encompasses Clay Point, the site of private estates. New home construction is steadily rising as the desirabillity of Colchester's integral beauty, excellent school system, and proximity to employment, the Interstate, and major highways attracts new residents.

Colchester has six business parks for commercial and industrial use, including Ethan Allen Industrial Park, The Park at Water Tower Hill; Colchester Business Park, Sunderland Industrial Park, Meadows Industrial Park, and Demers Industrial Park. Largest employers include the Visiting Nurses Association, St. Michael's College, Fletcher Allen Health Care Fanny Allen Campus, Camp Johnson, Colchester School District, Champlain Cable Corp., Engelberth Construction, Costco Wholesale, Hampton Inn, Severn Trent Laboratories, Hazelett Strip-Casting, McDonald's, Inc., and Green Mountain Power Corporation.

Chartered by Benning Wentworth on June 7, 1763, Colchester's original tract consisted of six square miles bounded by the "French or Onion River" on the South and Lake Champlain on the West. Ira Allen was voted the "proprietors Clark for the Town" on March 23, 1773 at a meeting held at the home of Capt. Samuel Moore, a Salisbury CT innkeeper. The proprietors consisted of Ethan, Ira, Heman, and Zimry Allen, and Remember Baker, known as the Onion River Company. As in other Chittenden County towns, Ira Allen was voted surveyor, selecting a site for himself on the hill overlooking the Winooski River at Winooski Falls, an area considered part of Colchester until the 1890s and is now the city of Winooski.

Colchester soon became one of the more settled towns in the region, a situation which did not become precarious until the outbreak of hostilities between the British and the colonists. Residents fled to other communities for safety, the majority not returning until 1783, well after the Revolutionary War had ended. Saw mills were among the earliest enterprises in the town. Most of the farms were self-sufficient, growing crop. It was economical to build brick houses during that period, since clay was plentiful and a makeshift kiln could be set up in a spot convenient to the source of material and home being built. Many of these homes are still occupied, several by descendants of the original builders.

Although there is still a lot of open land and many of the roads follow those cleared by early settlers, the scope and type of the industry and use of large portions of the Colchester has changed dramatically since its original charter. Still, with its location on the lake, it remains a favorite place for those in the Champlain Valley to live, work and play.