| Official Name: | Cavendish, Vermont |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Vermont |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Windsor |
| Area Total Km2: | 1.7 |
| Area Land Km2: | 1.7 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.0 |
| Population As Of: | 2010 |
| Population Total: | 179 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 890 |
| Coordinates: | 43.3819°N -72.6081°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 05142 |
| Area Code: | 802 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 50-12175[1] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1456794[2] |
Cavendish is a census-designated place, the central village of the town of Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. Until the midnineteenth century it was known as Duttonsville. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 179,[3] compared to 1,367 for the entire town of Cavendish.
Cavendish is the site of the 1848 accident where Phineas Gage got an iron rod shot through his skull while preparing a railroad bed. He survived, and after treatment became a case study for brain researchers. The town has erected a memorial to Gage.[4] The town is also the birthplace of Nettie Stevens, the scientist who discovered the Y chromosome.[5] Today, the village is home to Cavendish Labs, an AI alignment and pandemic prevention research institute, as well as a branch of Mack Molding.[6] [7]
Cavendish is located along Vermont Route 131 in the Black River valley. Route 131 heads west to Proctorsville, a larger village within the town of Cavendish, then connects with Vermont Route 103 to Ludlow. To the east, Route 131 leads to the village of Ascutney on the Connecticut River.