A Look at Wilton (CT) in 1860
with Early Census Data

The present town of Wilton was a part of nearby Norwalk from the time that the land was purchased from the Indians in 1641 until the year 1802. In 1726, however, it obtained a separate identity when a group of inhabitants successfully petitioned for their own local parish and what is currently the Wilton Congregational Church was established. The building shown here, its third and present home, was built in 1790.

The town finally became a separate legal entity when it was incorporated in 1802. The first census that listed Wilton as a town was therefore the one of 1810. Prior to that, the inhabitants were listed along with those from Norwalk. The data for 1810 was taken from Census Microfilm Roll M252.1 and from the records of the Wilton Congregational Church as researched and provided by Robert H. Russell, Church Historian. By 1860 the census had been expanded to include all inhabitants, their ages, place of birth, occupation,etc.

This enlarged content of the census made possible summaries and analyses. One of the first of these was made by G. Evans Hubbard, local historian and past president of the Wilton Historical Society, some of which is presented here along with bar charts of some of the data.

The census results are presented in surname alphabetical order for convenience in searching, but the visitation numbers are given as an aid in determining which families might have been neighbors and as a location reference for those who may wish to examine the original record.