Chilton, Wisconsin, United States

🇺🇸 Chilton is a city in and county seat of Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. 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 few years later.

The village was originally called Stantonville. John Marygold bought the place in 1852 and 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 a village called Chilton near Oxford, England.

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

Geography Chilton is located along the South Branch of the Manitowoc River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.01 square miles (10.39 km²), of which, 3.97 square miles (10.28 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) is water.

Demographics The population density was 990.7 inhabitants per square mile (382.5/km²). There were 1,808 housing units at an average density of 455.4 per square mile (175.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.8% White, 0.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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.

Transport: Road Primary routes to the city are Wisconsin Highway 57/Wisconsin Highway 32 to the north and south-east, and U.S. Route 151 to the east and west. Secondary routes are County Highway G to the south, County Highway F to the north-west, and County Highway Y to the northeast.

U.S. 151 east and west, US 151 routes to Chilton, Wisconsin.

WIS 32 is concurrent with WIS 57 in both directions southbound to New Holstein, Wisconsin and northbound to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

WIS 57 travels south concurrent with WIS 32.

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 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 grade school in the city.

Healthcare Ascension Calumet Hospital is a 25 bed critical access hospital. There are 5.3 primary care physicians 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 businesses • Kaytee, a bird seed producer is headquartered in Chilton. • Gravity Park USA, a motocross track, is near Chilton.

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