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| Wilton, Maine | |
| Motto: A great place to live, work & play | |
  Wilton, Maine
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Maine |
| County | Franklin |
| Area | |
| - Total | 42.8 sq mi (110.9 km²) |
| - Land | 41.3 sq mi (106.9 km²) |
| - Water | 1.6 sq mi (4.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 425 ft (130 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 4,123 |
| - Density | 99.9/sq mi (38.6/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04294 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | |
| Website: http://www.wiltonmaine.org/index.html | |
Wilton is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,123 at the 2000 census. The town was originally known as Harrytown after a local Native American, then renamed Tyngtown for the captain leading the expedition that killed him.1 In 1803 a resident who had moved from Wilton, New Hampshire paid the cost of incorporation in order to have the town named after his former residence.2
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Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.8 square miles (110.9 km²), of which, 41.3 square miles (106.9 km²) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (3.64%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census3 of 2000, there were 4,123 people, 1,667 households, and 1,148 families residing in the town. The population density was 99.9 people per square mile (38.6/km²). There were 1,882 housing units at an average density of 45.6/sq mi (17.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.45% White, 0.44% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.44% of the population.
There were 1,667 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $34,563, and the median income for a family was $42,679. Males had a median income of $32,175 versus $20,300 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,702. About 5.6% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.
History
Wilton is known for being the location of Maine's first cotton mill, started in 1810 by Solomon Adams.4
George Henry Bass (1855 - 1925) was founder of G.H. Bass & Co. and the best-known businessman in Wilton's history. Bass shoes (including those worn by Charles Lindbergh during his Atlantic crossing and Admiral Byrd in his expeditions to Antarctica) were made exclusively in Wilton for more than a century, from 1876 to 1998. But by then the Bass family had sold out5, and in 1998 Bass' parent company, Phillips-Van Heusen, moved operations overseas. John Russell Bass (b. 1878), son of G.H. Bass, was treasurer for G. H. Bass & Co. and served as Maine delegate to the Republican national convention in 1920, 1944 and 1952. The Bass company built much of its success on its Bass penny weejun, introduced in 1936 and said to be based on Norwegian fisherman's shoes. The style was an instant hit, and became a staple on college campuses across the nation. The shoe was later renamed the Leavitt penny weejun; it is no longer made in Wilton.6
Maine architect John Calvin Stevens designed the L. Brooks Leavitt home in Wilton. Stevens was the architect of many well-known Maine residences, including Winslow Homer's in Prouts Neck, Maine.7 An early Wall Street investment banker and rare book collector, Brooks Leavitt was an overseer and financial supporter of Bowdoin College and its library, and a relation of the Bass family.8 Esteemed Maine author Robert P.T. Coffin dedicated his book "Captain Abby and Captain John" to lifelong friend Leavitt, "a fellow son of Maine," whom Coffin eulogized in his poem "Brooks Leavitt," read at Leavitt's 1948 funeral in Wilton. A longtime patron of the arts, Brooks Leavitt was close to many New York artists and actors, including Francis Wilson, the foremost Broadway stage actor of his day.9
Notable residents
Folk artist Ray LaMontagne was a resident of Wilton until about the spring of 2007, when he moved "Up towards Rangeley (Maine)".
References
- ^ History of Farmington, Maine, from Its First Settlement to 1846, Thomas Parker, J.S. Swift, Farmington, Maine, 1875
- '^ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson. ed.. Maine: A Guide 'Down East. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc.. pp. 284-285.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.wiltonmaine.org/workers.html
- ^ The Bass family sold G.H. Bass & Co. to the conglomerate Chesebrough-Pond's for $27 million in 1978.
- ^ Made in America: From Levi's to Barbie to Google, Nick Freeth, 2005
- ^ Drawing of Leavitt Residence, Wilton, ca. 1925, Maine Memory Network mainememory.net
- ^ An early partner at Paine, Webber & Co., Leavitt donated to Bowdoin College early manuscripts by Bowdoin alumni Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
- ^ Correspondence between Francis Wilson and L. Brooks Leavitt, Francis Wilson papers, The New York Public Library, Billy Rose Theater Division, npl.org
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- This page was last modified on 2 December 2008, at 15:00.
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