Wilton is a modern residential town rich in New England history. The first written records of the areas that are now Wilton date back to 1640, when Roger Ludlow and his friends purchased land from the Indians between the Norwalk and Saugatuck Rivers and „a day’s walk into the country.“ This land was called Norwalk. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 18,062. Wilton, a family friendly community, is nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in western Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, Wilton is north of the City of Norwalk, west of the Town of Weston, and east of the Town of New Canaan. Wilton’s 17,633 residents live in an area of 26.8 sq. miles. Wilton is 55 miles from midtown Manhattan and is within easy driving distance from Westchester County, New York. The Town is accessible from routes 7, 33, 106, and 107. Wilton is only one hour from Grand Central Station on the New Haven Line Danbury branch of Metro-North Railroad, which runs daily commuter service. The town has had the foresight to preserve almost 1,000 acres of open space for active and passive recreational use. Although there is limited land remaining for development, Wilton retains much of its open feeling and rural atmosphere. Winding back roads with trees, streams, ponds, woods, and rolling hills are all part of the Wilton’s beauty and charm and afford privacy as well as a pastoral setting.
Wilton has, by some estimates, more than 500 restored 18th- and 19th-century homes, although some old houses have been demolished. In 2005, Marilyn Gould—director of the Wilton Historical Society—told the New York Times, „People aren’t taking down historic houses but the more modest homes that were built in the ’50s and ’60s,“ she said.” What that’s doing is changing the affordability of the town and the demographic of the town. Wilton used to have a wide demographic of people who worked with their hands – artisans, builders, mechanics. Now its management and upper management.” Between 1999 and 2005, the town’s voters endorsed spending $23 million through municipal bonds to preserve land.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilton,_Connecticut
http://www.wiltonct.org/