On November 6, 1780, the land was granted to William Williams and 64 others. Originally called Wildersburgh, it included what is today both the town and city of Barre. It was first settled in 1788 by John Goldsbury and Samuel Rodgers, together with their families. But dissatisfied with the name Wildersburgh, citizens renamed the town after
Isaac Barré, a champion of the
American Colonies. In 1895, within the town was set off and incorporated as the separate city. "In 1780 a tract of 19,900 acres of land in Vermont was chartered under the name of "Wildersburgh" to a number of proprietors. At a town-meeting of the inhabitants of this tract held in September, 1793, it was agreed that a house of worship should be erected, and it was voted that the man who would give the most towards building the same should have the right to name the township. Ezekiel Dodge Wheeler bid £62, and was permitted to name the township "Barre"—for Barre, Massachusetts, whence some of the settlers of the new township had emigrated."
Granite industry Barre is the self-proclaimed "
Granite Center of the World". Initially established with the discovery of vast granite deposits at Millstone Hill soon after the
War of 1812, the granite industry and the city itself saw a boom with the arrival of the
railroad. The fame of this vast deposit of granite, which some geologists say is long, wide and deep, soon spread to
Europe and
Canada. Large numbers of people migrated to Barre from
Italy,
Scotland,
Spain,
Scandinavia,
Greece,
Lebanon, Canada, and a number of other countries. The population increased from 2,060 in 1880, to 6,790 in 1890, to 10,000 in 1894. By the turn of the century, Barre was noted as the state's most diverse city. Millstone Hill is now the site of a recreational, wooded trail network, where the mining holes and grout piles are still peppered throughout. The Italian immigrants in particular brought a radical, largely
anarchist labor movement to Barre. In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of granite strikes roiled the city; some disputes concerned wages, but workers increasingly mobilized to address health and hazard in the quarries and "sheds." The strike of 1922, arguably fought to a draw, raised ethnic tensions; French Canadians were painted as strikebreakers. The
Quarry Workers' International Union of North America was based in Barre. They were originally affiliated with the
Socialist Labor Party before affiliating with the
Industrial Workers of the World, and in 1916 and in 1929 the city elected a
Socialist Party candidate as mayor of Barre. The old
Socialist Labor Party Hall is still standing and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 2000. "Barre Gray" granite is sought after worldwide for its fine grain, even texture, and superior weather resistance. Many sculpture artists prefer it for outdoor sculpture. In 1936 the granite quarry in Barre carved out a 35-ton cross from one section of stone in the quarry.
Hope Cemetery in Barre displays extensive examples of the sculptors' art. ==Geography and climate==