Williston
Though currently one of Vermont’s fastest growing towns and commercial centers, Williston also boasts a landscape rich in open spaces, wild places, and fascinating stories to be explored. An aerial view of Williston’s piece of the Champlain Valley shows that expansive tracts of forest and farmland are as much a part of modern Williston as are the suburban neighborhoods and shopping centers of Taft Corner’s.
Encompassing over 30 square miles along the southern banks of the Winooski River, the town of Williston has a unique physical setting whose roots trace back over millennia to ancient river deltas in Glacial Lake Vermont and to the great tectonic forces of geology that uplifted the Green Mountains and shaped the very bedrock the town stands on.
Such ancient stories shape the lives of animals, plants and humans to create the patterns we see on the landscape today. From moist floodplain forests and wetlands to dry craggy ridgelines, Williston hosts diverse plant communities that include rare species and telling signs of past human land use. While not always noticed, Williston is home to abundant wildlife including such dramatic creatures as bobcats, fishers, black bears and moose as well as a rich springtime chorus of amphibians.
Humans have been part of the Williston landscape for over 10,000 years leaving a rich archeological heritage with much yet to be discovered on the land. As the more than 8,000 residents of Williston look to the future they can celebrate their ongoing part in the rich and exciting landscape of stories around them.