The Town of Cavendish was chartered in 1761. It has always been a generally quiet rural community with beautiful forested hills and valleys, mountain views and productive river valleys. The picturesque Black River Valley runs west to east through the town, complete with two distinct villages, a trophy trout stream section, a hydro plant and two intersecting Vermont state highway arteries. With housing ranging from magnificent old country estates to great contemporary mansions, from classic village homes to crisp and clean affordable housing, there is a wide assortment of residential opportunities. The two villages sprang from the early success and growth of Vermont's woolen industry yet they adapted gracefully and flourished in their own right after the decline of that industry with a little help of some Town revitalization efforts. Cavendish's largest industrial resident is a branch of the Mack Molding company which specializes in custom plastics molding. Mack took one of the former mill complexes in town and has developed it into a fine modern plant while keeping the exterior of the plant well maintained and preserving the classic mill complex character.
