Sixty-one years following the formation of the first Rotary Club on February 23, 1905, twenty-seven men from Essex, interested in Rotary under the sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Burlington, applied for membership to Rotary International on February 16, 1966. The Rotary Club of Essex was Chartered on April 13, 1966.

At that time, the territorial limits included the communities of Essex Town and Essex Junction, Westford, Jericho, Underhill, Williston, Bolton, and Huntington. The Essex Club is proud to have been instrumental in helping to launch the Rotary Club of Grand Isle in 1989, and later the Rotary Club of Williston-Richmond in 1995. The present territorial limits include Essex Town and Essex Junction, Westford, Jericho, and Underhill.

With an annual membership of approximately 60, the Rotary Club of Essex is one of several clubs that make up Rotary District 7850, comprising the Northern parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Quebec, Canada. The Essex Club is proud of this unique international relationship and its involvement in its local community.