Richmond sits along a natural east-west corridor, the Winooski River. The Abenaki used this corridor for 10,000 to 12,000 years. Archaeologists have established a fall hunting site used around 1500 AD at the mouth of the Huntington River.
Richmond was created by an Act of the Vermont Legislature on October 27, 1794 from parts of the towns of New Huntington, Williston & Jericho. A small section of Bolton was annexed on October 25, 1804. The first businesses in town were located near this church. Richmond was also a stopping point for early travelers on the Winooski Turnpike (US Route 2) between Burlington and Montpelier. After the railroad was completed in 1849, the town center shifted to the north.