Granite and government have long been Washington County's main claims to fame. Both have shaped this rugged, landlocked region's economy and demography, yet the county remains classically Vermont with its steeply rising green hills and pockets of quiet villages with red brick houses, white clapboard and steeples.

The county, at the geographic heart of the state, is an eclectic mix of the best Vermont can offer. To the northeast is a scattering of towns ribboned with rocky riverbeds and ponds. To the northwest is Waterbury, a sturdy little town snuggled into a notch in the Green Mountains. Waterbury has thrived for more than a century as a mill town and commercial center, as well as home to the State Hospital for the mentally ill. More recently, it served as a debarkation point for the Stowe ski resort. It is now home to the company that put Vermont on the ice-cream lover's map, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. To the southwest is Northfield, a prosperous small town and the home of Norwich University, a military school. Further south are Waitsfield and Warren, two delightful little communities of specialty shops that thrive on the ski visitors drawn to the Mad River Valley. To the southeast is Barre, source of the granite engine that jump-started the county's economy with some of the deepest and most valuable granite quarries in the world. At the center of all these areas is Montpelier, the county seat and state capital. It is a gracious, if small, city with a gold-domed capitol offset by a deep-green backdrop of conifers that line the hill known as Hubbard Park behind the capitol building. Montpelier has a lively downtown of cafes, delis and craft stores where government officials, lobbyists and legislators mingle with local residents known for their hip, easygoing style.

The county's main source of economic prosperity comes through recreation including tourism, the insurance industry and the internationally known granite quarries, based in Barre. More than 100 years ago, the granite industry transformed Barre into Vermont's most cosmopolitan and volatile community. Barre has a strong labor background and a rich ethnic diversity resulting from masses of immigrant stone workers who flooded into the area. They came from all over Europe and settled in Barre between 1880 and 1910, pushing the population up from 2,000 to 11,000 in the 30-year period.

Aside from Barre and Montpelier, Washington County is rather sparsely populated and retains a feeling of rural wildness. So, while elegant government buildings beckon decision-makers and lobbyists, the glorious meadows and rocky peaks outside wait for visitors to come, to see and to fall in love with the county's exquisitely varied landscape.