Wilton Center, Illinois

Wilton Center
Unincorporated community
Census designated place
Wilton Center is located in Illinois
Wilton Center
Wilton Center
Location of Wilton Center within Illinois
Wilton Center is located in the United States
Wilton Center
Wilton Center
Wilton Center (the United States)
Coordinates: 41°21′05″N 87°57′35″W / 41.35139°N 87.95972°W / 41.35139; -87.95972
CountryUnited States
StateIllinois
CountyWill
TownshipWilton
Elevation
663 ft (202 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
122
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
60442
Area code815
[1]

Wilton Center is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in southern Will County, Illinois, United States. It is located on flat land 10 miles northeast of Wilmington, 5 miles south of Manhattan, and 8 miles west of Peotone. As of the 2020 census, Wilton Center had a population of 122.[2]

History

Indigenous Roots

Ce-nag-e-wine (or Senachwine) and Joseph Laughton, the son of a David Laughton and Potawatomi woman, were Potawatomi tribal leaders who, in 1832, were given reservations next to one another along the Forked Creek.[3] This area was referred to as the "Twelve Mile Grove" and would later be known as Wilton Center.

However, these reserves did not last, and in 1836, under the Indian Removal Act, the Potawatomi were forcibly removed to reservations in Kansas. Both leaders sold their land to local settlers in 1840.[4]

Origins of Wilton Center

While the Grove continued to grow in population, small communities such as Wallingford and Peotone grew popular and formed Wilton Township in 1850.[5]

Wilton Center was officially organized in 1860 at the south end of the Grove and documented two general stores, two wagon shops, two churches, a number of homes, and a school.[6] This school sat on the location of the later built and closed Wilton Center Elementary School. The Center was re-organized in 1876, with many families and structures still present today.[7]

Geography

Overview

U.S. Route 52 goes through Wilton Center. Other main roads are Cedar Rd., Peotone-Wilmington Rd., and Elevator Rd. Other roads in Wilton Center are Arsenal Rd. and Quigley Rd. Wilton Center is half surrounded by a forest preserve controlled by Will County. There is a church on Rt. 52.

Laughton Preserve

The Laughton Preserve is a 430-acre nature and wildlife preserve that sits within and around Wilton Center. The preserve holds cultural importance as well as natural, maintaining portions of the 1832 Ce-nag-e-wine and Joseph Laughton Reservations, and the historic Wallingford Settlement. The Civilian Conservation Corps was tasked with building a picnic shelter in the 1930s that still stands today.[8]

The preserve is the natural habitat for Big Brown Bats and is part of the Forked Creek preservation system, which conserves more than 2,400 acres.[9]

Education

Wilton Center is a part of Peotone School District 207-U.[10] Wilton Center Elementary School was closed, after a November 2013 vote by the board of trustees,[11] resulting in a 4–3 outcome. The closure was effective upon the completion of the 2013–2014 school year.[12]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2020122—
U.S. Decennial Census[13]

Wilton Center first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. census.[14]

2020 census

Wilton Center CDP, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2020[15] % 2020
White alone (NH) 108 88.52%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1 0.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Asian alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 0 0.00%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 0 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 13 10.66%
Total 122 100.00%

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ "Wilton Center". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Our Rural Heritage: Whatever became of Twelve Mile Grove? – Farmers Weekly Review". fwrnews.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Our Rural Heritage: Whatever became of Twelve Mile Grove? – Farmers Weekly Review". fwrnews.com. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  5. ↑ "History of Wilton Illinois, 1907 - Will County ILGenWeb". March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  6. ↑ "History of Wilton Township, Illinois - Will County ILGenWeb". March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Wilton Township 1873 Atlas Map". David Rumsey Map Collection. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Laughton Preserve". Forest Preserve District of Will County. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Laughton Preserve". Openlands. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  10. ↑ Geography Division (December 22, 2020). 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Will County, IL (PDF) (Map). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2022. - Text
  11. ↑ Patch Staff (October 5, 2015). "Hastings' Bill Addresses School Closings". Patch.com. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Wilton Center Elementary School (Closed 2015) - Manhattan, IL". Public School Review. March 26, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ "2020 Geography Changes". United States Census Bureau.
  15. ↑ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wilton Center CDP, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
  16. ↑ 'Services Held in Joliet For Richard J. Barr,' The Farmers Weekly Review (Will County, Illinois), June 13, 1951, pg. 1


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