Wilton, WI

Wilton is a village in Monroe County, Wisconsin, split between the Towns of Wilton and Wellington in the Driftless Area. The 2020 census counted 532 residents. The village sits along the Kickapoo River and near the center of the 32.5-mile Elroy-Sparta State Trail, where wetlands, prairies, farmland, and unglaciated hills meet. The trail and village campground make Wilton a familiar stop for cyclists and visitors moving through western Wisconsin.

Wilton grew around the Chicago and North Western Railway at the turn of the twentieth century. Tillman Produce made poultry an important local business, and when the rail lines were abandoned in the 1960s, the corridor became one of the first rail-trails in the United States. The village keeps that trail connection in view. Today Wilton remains an agricultural village with trucking, home businesses, and work in nearby communities. Its older rail line, river setting, campground, and trail tunnels keep the village connected to both local life and the wider Driftless landscape.