Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 February 2009 01:53 Written by Carl Johnson
Wilton
New Hampshire
Established 1762
Wilton Town Hall
Wilton History
Wilton NH was incorporated in 1762 as Wilton, named after a town in England. It was first settled as a part of Salem-Canada, which included Lyndeborough, and was later known as No. 2. In 1768 the western part of the township was added to Temple.
Wilton is a mill town located on the Souhegan River, which it has always made good use of. The town features a mix of industry, commuters, and a growing artists community.
The present downtown area, originally East Wilton Village, is on the banks of the river, with old mill buildings all around, changed now from one family textile manufacturer to a wide variety of small companies. From 1851 until 1874 the town was the terminus of the Nashua Railroad and grew accordingly.
Wilton Quick Facts
Total land area: 22.5 square miles
Population: Approx. 3215
Libraries: Wilton Public and Gregg Free
Government: Selectmen
Wilton Landmarks
Wilton Center, the original village high on a hill, is a picture postcard place of large homes, the First Church, a meeting hall thats now home to Andys Summer Playhouse, and one of the towns original one-room schools. Once the center of town activity, businesses moved to East Wilton when the railroad arrived. The center was once the sight of an informal artists colony whose New York- and Boston-based members summered there.
West Wilton, the original site of the towns industry, also lost its importance when the railroad came. With a pretty tumbling brook, stone arch bridge, and brick houses it is a different kind of village from the center. It is the home of Sheldrick Forest, a large old-growth lot recently saved from development by a huge outpouring of donations. The forest is now owned by the New Hampshire chapter of the Nature Conservancy and is open to the public.
Wilton Highway Access
NH Routes 31 and 101 meet in the downtown area. The closest major highways are in Nashua and Manchester, about 30 minutes away. Wilton is about 50 minutes from Keene, 30 minutes from Nashua, a little more than an hour from Boston, two hours from Portsmouth and over two hours from the White Mountains.
Wilton Business and Industry
Wilton is still a manufacturing site, although no longer a textile center. The largest employers include Paralyzed Veterans of America, makers of greeting cards, Label Art, makers of pressure-sensitive labels, and Bur Bark Machine, Inc. Kimball Physics, a manufacturer of electron optics, received nationwide attention as a totally smoke-free environment.
Miscellaneous
Electric Supplier: PSNH
Natural Gas Supplier: EnergyNorth
Water: Wilton Water Works/Stockwell Brook/wells
Telephone: NYNEX/Wilton Telephone
For more information regarding Wilton, NH please refer to the following:
Community Newspaper:
673-3100
Online town directory and local government listings:
Wilton Schools
Wilton is part of two school districts, Wilton and Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative. The Wilton School district covers grades 1 6 in one building, the Florence Rideout Elementary School. Wilton-Lyndeborough Junior-Senior High School handles grades 7 12. Both districts are part of S.A.U. 63. Also in town is a complete Waldorf School System, which consists of Pine Hill Elementary School and High Mowing School.
More Wilton School Information
ELEMENTARY
Florence Rideout Elementary
Grades 1 - 6
Tremont Street
WILTON-LYNDEBOROUGH COOPERATIVE JUNIOR-SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Grades 7 - 12
Burns Hill Road
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Pine Hill Waldorf Elementary School
Abbot Hill Road
654-6003
High Mowing School
Abbot Hill Road
654-2391
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