Averill was originally chartered in 1762 as part of the Province of New Hampshire on the behalf of Royal Governor Benning Wentworth.

Averill consisted of twenty three thousand and forty acres of land, which was divided among seventy equal shares, with the stipulation that the grantees must cultivate a tenth of their land within five years, and that all pine trees fit for ship masts must be preserved for that purpose.

In the 1870s a sawmill was built in the neighboring town of Norton, which led to a rise in population to 48 residents in 1880.

[5] Averill is in northern Essex County, bordered by Canaan to the northeast, Lemington to the southeast, Bloomfield at the southernmost point, Lewis on the southwest, Averys Gore to the west, and Norton to the northwest.

The highest point in the town is an unnamed 2,970-foot (910 m) summit along the border with Lemington in the southeast.

Its far northern location and relatively high elevation of 1,699 ft (518 m), means it has some of the coldest weather in Vermont.

The daily average temperature stays below freezing for five months, with high levels of snowfall as well.

In 2000, a representative Board of Governors (three members) was elected to replace the former Essex County Supervisor system.