Jericho, Vermont

Jericho is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont. The population was 5,104 in the 2020 census. The town was named after the ancient city of Jericho.

Jericho was formed in 1763 as a grant by New Hampshire governor Benning Wentworth. The first European settlers came from Berkshire County, Massachusetts in 1774.

Ira Allen and Remember Baker surveyed the town of Jericho in 1773 for the Onion River Land Company. A family named Brown were among the first to settle in Jericho in 1774, building a cabin near the Browns River.

In 1776, a detachment of the Continental Army was sent to garrison a blockhouse in Jericho along the Onion (Winooski) River, but they retreated back to Fort Ticonderoga within weeks of their arrival due to fears of British advance south from Canada. The officers involved included Matthew Lyon; they were tried and convicted by court-martial for cowardice and disobeying orders to maintain the post. The location of the Jericho blockhouse is believed to have been along River Road near the intersection with Skunk Hollow.

In 1780, the Brown family were taken captive by a war party of British-allied Mohawks returning to Canada following the Royalton raid.

5,000 acres were removed from southern Jericho in 1794 to form the new town of Richmond, along with lands from Bolton, Huntington, and Williston.

The town's economy developed around logging, agriculture, and milling along the Browns River, where the revitalized Old Red Mill still stands today. Three village centers emerged: Jericho Corners, Jericho Center, and Riverside. From 1876 to 1937 trains on the Burlington and Lamoille Railroad made daily cargo and passenger stops in Jericho, connecting to Essex Junction and Cambridge.

From 1926 into the 1940s, the federal government purchased 5,240 acres of land in Jericho for military purposes; this and adjoining land in Underhill and Bolton now form the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site.