Chilton is a city in and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Calumet County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The population was 3,720 as of 2024. The city is partially within the Town of Chilton.

History

The first residents of Chilton were African-American former slave Moses Stanton and his Native-American wife, Catherine, who arrived in January 1845. The city formed around his saw mill and a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

a few years later. The village was originally called Stantonville. John Marygold bought the place in 1852 and, according to legend, called it "Chilington," referring to Chillington Hall in England. He sent a verbal message to have the name change recorded in Stockbridge, then the county seat. Because the middle ''ing'' in the name was accidentally omitted, the municipality was recorded as Chilton. An alternative explanation for the name is that it was a reference to one of two villages called Chilton near Oxford, England. Both are located on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, a limestone escarpment similar to the Niagara Escarpment near Chilton, Wisconsin. "Chilt," when used in a place name in England, is thought to have derived from the Old English word for chalk or limestone ("cealc"), while "ton" derives from the Old English word for town ("tun"). Between 1838-1852, when John Marygold lived in England, all records of births, marriages and deaths of people named Marygold were concentrated around just three cities: Marygold's hometown of Birmingham (18 records), Oxford (10 records), and London (7 records). Oxford being just 80 miles from Birmingham, it's plausible that Marygold had family members there and knew of the two nearby Chiltons. The county seat was changed to Chilton in December 1853 and the county's first courthouse was built. Most Chilton residents in the 19th century had German heritage.

Gravesville

Chilton annexed the unincorporated community of Gravesville in the late twentieth century. Gravesville was founded 1849 by Leroy Graves and the community was named after him. By 1881, it was one of the largest communities in the county behind Chilton and Stockbridge. Gravesville had over 400 residents and it unsuccessfully vied for becoming the county seat. Graves built a sawmill in 1849 which remained in the community until he moved it to Fond du Lac in 1886. At its peak, the community had several

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

s, a furniture factory, and a saw/planing mill. It also had a post office (as of 1876).

Geography

Chilton is located at (44.030745, -88.158704), along the South Branch of the Manitowoc River. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which, is land and is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 4,080 people.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 3,933 people, 1,687 households, and 1,027 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,808 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population. There were 1,687 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age in the city was 40 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,708 people, 1,512 households, and 952 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 1,606 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.49%

, 0.38%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 1,512 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,401, and the median income for a family was $51,581. Males had a median income of $35,163 versus $22,672 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,778. About 4.9% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Highway

Primary routes to the city are Wisconsin Highway 57/

Wisconsin Highway 32 State Trunk Highway 32 (often called Highway 32, STH-32 or WIS 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that runs north–south in the eastern part of the state. It runs from the Illinois border (at Illinois Route 137) north to the ...

to the north and southeast, and U.S. Route 151 to the east and west. Secondary routes are County Highway G to the south, County Highway F to the northwest, and County Highway Y to the northeast.

Water

The south branch of the Manitowoc River snakes through Chilton. Some of the river is navigable, but it is unused except for recreational canoeing. A widening of the river called Lake Chilton has been used for

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

in winter.

Education

Chilton's public schools are administered by the Chilton Public Schools. The district has one high school, Chilton High School, one elementary school, Chilton Elementary School, and one middle school, Chilton Middle School. Chilton Area Catholic School is a private

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

grade school in the city.

Healthcare

Ascension Calumet Hospital is a 25 bed critical access hospital. There are 5.3

primary care physician A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term ...

s per 100,000 population in Chilton compared to the statewide average of 75.6. Chilton is in a primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) qualifying the area as a medical desert. By 2035, Chilton is expected to have a 79.2% deficit in physicians, the third largest predicted deficit in Wisconsin. There are no behavior health physicians in Chilton.

Notable people

* George Baldwin, Mayor of Chilton, politician, businessman * Thomas P.M. Barnett, military geostrategist *

Winifred Bonfils Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils (October 14, 1863, Chilton, Wisconsin – May 25, 1936, San Francisco, California) was an American reporter and columnist, under the pen name Annie Laurie, a reference to her mother's favorite lullaby. She also wrote ...

, early 20th Century journalist * Dave Casper, an NFL

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

player; graduated from Chilton High School in 1970 * Gerald Francis Clifford, a

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

executive, Democratic politician and lawyer * Lewis H. Cook, Wisconsin State Representative * Jerome F. Fox, Wisconsin State Representative * Harrison Carroll Hobart, Union Army general, Hobart Park named after him * Frank L. Kersten, Wisconsin State Representative * Julius Kiesner, Socialist State Representative * Francis Peter Leipzig, Roman Catholic bishop * Nicholas J. Lesselyoung, Wisconsin State Representative * Thomas Lynch, U.S. Representative * John McMullen, Wisconsin State Senator * Robert W. Monk, Wisconsin State Senator, physician, and Mayor of Chilton * Carl J. Peik, Wisconsin State Representative * Henry Rollman, Wisconsin State Senator * Reinhard Schlichting, Wisconsin State Senator * Benjamin Sweet, Wisconsin State Senator and Union Army general * Herman C. Wipperman, Wisconsin State Senator

Notable businesses

* Kaytee, a bird seed producer is headquartered in Chilton. * Gravity Park USA, a motocross track, is near Chilton.

Radio stations

* WKZY, 92.9 FM - Top 40/CHR; is licensed to Chilton * WMBE (now WZBU), 1530 AM - currently silent; formerly had studios in Chilton as a polka station.

References

External links

City of Chilton

Chilton Chamber of Commerce
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
1892189819041914
{{Authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Calumet County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin Populated places established in 1845 1845 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places in Wisconsin established by African Americans