Essex

Essex, town (township), Chittenden county, northwestern Vermont, U.S., on the Winooski River just east of Burlington. Chartered in 1763 and settled in 1783, it consists of the villages of Essex Junction and Essex Center. Essex Junction is a busy industrial and residential site where the Central Vermont Railroad and several highways converge; its railway depot serves as the depot for Burlington. Essex Center is a small, mostly residential settlement. The grounds of the Champlain Valley Exposition are nearby, as is the site of Fort Ethan Allen, used as a military reservation during the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II but now occupied by private businesses and organizations. Area 39 square miles (101 square km). Pop. (2000) 18,626; (2010) 19,587.