More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #93 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Bass Boarding House and the Goodspeed Memorial Library. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1810.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilton is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #93 of 143 in Maine. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wilton’s overall grade.
Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wilton’s 5.2 sits below most of its state (28% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Wilton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The land replaced an invalidated 1727 grant by Massachusetts to veterans for service in the French and Indian Wars. The first grant (now part of Manchester, New Hampshire) was originally dubbed Harrytown after a particularly dangerous Native American, then renamed Tyngstown for Captain William Tyng, leader of the expedition of "snowshoe men" that killed him in 1703. Abraham Butterfield, a settler from Wilton, New Hampshire, paid the cost of incorporation in 1803 to have the new town named after his former residence.
Passages that mention Wilton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-18851885 · page 398Read the page →
Read the text
Benjamin Brainerd, son of the preceding, first settled upon the land now owned by A. H. Abbott and others, subsequently removing to the farm where John E. Perley lives, and thence to the town of Wilton, where he d. Feb. 9, 1867. He md., March, 181 2, Mary Hall; md. (2) Elvira Hall, who d. March 22, 1870, aged 58 years.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the present time, 1776-18851885 · page 305Read the page →
Read the text
Richard S. Rice was by trade a tailor, and first began business in the town of Wilton in 1855, where he remained about a year, and then came to F'armington, establishing himself as a merchant tailor in the store which stood where Mrs. S. S. Belcher's upper store now stands. He was regarded as an active and enterprising merchant, and during his brief business career won the favorable opinion of those with whom he was associated.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Wilton, 1818 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wilton is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #93 of 143 in Maine. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Wilton?
Two places: the Bass Boarding House (listed 1988) and the Goodspeed Memorial Library (1989).
How old are the homes in Wilton?
30% of Wilton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1969.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (20), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1915
c. 1915
c. 1920
c. 1925
1948
1984
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2014
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