Wilton, Connecticut Quick Facts: Land area is approximately 27.4 Square miles and the elevation is 250 feet. Incorporated in 1802, Wilton currently has about 18,079 residents in 6,155 households, 82% of which are owner occupied. Approximately 19.5% of the housing stock was built prior to 1950. The 2011-2012 property tax rate was 20.85
Wilton is another of the most affluent towns in Fairfield County, as well as in the country, and is located in southwestern Connecticut- bordered by Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Norwalk, and Lewisboro, New York. In 2007, Wilton was voted as one of CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in the United States. There is nearly 1,000 acres of open space dedicated for active and passive recreational use. Wilton affords its residents the utmost in privacy as well as a pastoral setting, and with limited land available for development, Wilton retains much of its open feeling and rural atmosphere. The especially scenic Norwalk River winds through the valleys of Wilton, and much of the town's charm lies within its winding back roads with woods, trees, streams and ponds. The first written records of the areas that are now known as Wilton date back to 1640, when Roger Ludlow (also see Fairfield) and others purchased land known then as Norwalk from the Indians between the Norwalk and Saugatuck Rivers. The " Proprietors" were the first settlers to arrive in Norwalk in 1651, and they owned approximately 50,000 acres in common. On the outskirts of Norwalk, the Proprietors held private ownership of land in a common planting field, but cattle, sheep, and hogs were grazed elsewhere in a communal pasture area. The outer limit of this pasture is approximately Wilton's current southern boundary. In the late 16th century, the Norwalk Proprietors began to sell off the northern lands for settlement. The first non-Indian settlements in Wilton were in the Norwalk River valley, and on the ridges of Belden Hill, Chestnut Hill, and Ridgefield Road in land now known as Wilton. In order to make the land suitable for farming, the settlers cleared forests and removed hundreds of glacial rocks, which in turn, became the stone boundary walls that we treasure today. By 1725 there were forty families living in Wilton who wanted their own meetinghouse. They began their own Congregational church and were allowed by Norwalk to hire a minister (Robert Sturgeon, who also became the town's first schoolmaster), open schools and build roads. In 1726, with the approval of both the Proprietors and the Wilton settlers, a petition to the General Court in Hartford created Wilton Parish, "a village enjoying parish privileges" but still part of the town of Norwalk. A copy of the petition is framed and can be seen in the Town Hall. During the Revolutionary War, in 1777 the British used Wilton as an escape route after their successful raid on Danbury. Several homes were burned, but the town remained intact. In 1802, the people of Wilton were granted separate Town government status by an act of the Connecticut General Assembly. Industries such as shoemaking, shirt making, carriage building, and distilleries were plentiful , with various types of mills built along the streams, including the Gilbert and Bennett Manufacturing Co. Parks and Recreation:
Comstock Community Center
Weir Farm National Park and 110 acre Preserve
Merwin Meadows Oark- Site of the Annual Pumpkin Festival
Schenck's Island Park --(which is not really an island)-- is a 17 acre parcel in Wilton Center situated east of the Norwalk River and west of the railroad tracks. Steeped with history, there are six designated Historical districts in town, and a plethora of historic sites to visit as well as both the Cannondale and Wilton Center Historic districts, both established in 1992. The town has two railroad stations: Wilton and Cannondale (a sub-station where tickets are not sold), and both are part of the Danbury Line of Metro-North Railroad. Famous residents include Christopher Walken, Dave Brubeck, jazz musician, Chris Elliott, actor/comedian, Charles Grodin, actor, =Chance Browne, cartoonist of syndicated comic strip Hi and Lois, and Ace Frehley, KISS rock guitarist, lived in Wilton in the early 1980s
TRIVIA:
Bithplace of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy Dolls, created by Famous resident Johnny Gruelle. The Weir Farm National Historic Site is Connecticut’s first and only National Park, and the only national park service site that preserves and interprets the life and work of an American painter. During the years prior to the Civil War, Wilton served as one of the stops on the Underground Railroad. June Havoc, actress, who also renovated buildings to create the Cannon Crossing center of small shops. Her sister Gypsy Rose Lee frequently visited her. Kristine Lilly, member of the US Olympic Soccer Team, holds the world record for most professional soccer match appearances in history.
