Wilton Garden Club

Old Town Hall

Wilton's Old Town Hall is the perfect place for your celebration or special occasion. The Old Town Hall is a Colonial style building with a rich history that dates back to 1832. It served as a government building and school for almost a hundred years. The Wilton Garden Club worked hard to preserve and restore this important building. We lovingly maintain and rent this fully refurbished building for events.

Address Information

69 Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
(203) 834-1032

Rental Information

For information about rental of the Old Town Hall,

call Sally Ritchie at 203-762-0103, ext. 327.

And visit our rental information page to learn about

features, contact information, and rental documents.

 

The History of Wilton's Old Town Hall

One Sunday morning in 1828, a town meeting was convened after services in the Wilton Congregational Church at which time Wilton residents voted to build a "Townhouse." Nathan Comstock, who lived across the street from the Congregational Church, donated the property for such a building and deeded it to the Town of Wilton. The first meeting was held in the new but unfinished building in October of the same year. The building of the townhouse was finally completed in 1832, the date ascribed to the building and found on the plaque above the front door today.

The first floor of the townhouse was used for town meetings while the second floor housed the Wilton Academy, a private secondary school which prepared its students for college. The Wilton Academy continued to occupy the second floor until 1867. Sometime after that, most of the second floor was removed except for a section which became a balcony, still in existence.

The Town Hall continued to be used as the site of Wilton's town meetings, a form of town government currently in use in Wilton and many other New England towns. In 1928-29, the Town Hall was pressed into use as a school house after one of the one-room schools burned and some others were becoming over crowded. The town outgrew the building completely so that residents attending town meetings had to stand outside and shout their remarks through the windows. The balcony was often so loaded with people that it was in danger of collapsing on the heads of those seated below.

As a result, a new Center School was built in 1929 as well as a fine new Town Hall which was dedicated on Valentine's Day in 1931. The Old Town Hall stood empty and decaying. Many of the townspeople wanted it torn down.

At this point the Wilton Garden Club began its love affair with this beautiful old building. They persuaded the Town to allow the Club to renovate, decorate, and completely maintain the Old Town Hall. This ambitious undertaking on the part of the Wilton Garden Club has been supported by major financial commitments and strong membership participation over the intervening years. The preservation and restoration of this charming and historic meeting house was rewarded with a certificate of commendation from the Historic American Building Survey in 1939.

In 1970 the Old Town Hall, along with other neighboring buildings, became designated as Wilton’s Historic District #2. The Wilton Historic District Commission described the design of the building "as a simple, excellent one of Colonial character. It appears to be earlier than 1832 since a building of this date would normally have windows with larger panes. Perhaps the early character of the Old Town Hall was due to the fact that it was a two day journey to large centers such as Boston or New York and that the latest styles did not penetrate to remote areas such as Wilton for a considerable number of years. Or, perhaps the builders of this building wished to make its look in harmony with the Congregational Church, built in 1790, and copied the small paned windows of this nearby building."

The Garden Club added a section to the rear of the building in 1948 making room for a kitchen, restrooms, furnace, and a small greenhouse. Many refurbishing, landscaping, painting, and patching projects were necessary to keep the building in useable condition. During one of these special projects, insulation of the roof area in 1977, rotten support timbers were discovered. The building was then condemned.

The Garden Club organized and led a major renovation project to restore this building of architectural and historic interest to the Town. In December of 1980, the Old Town Hall was officially reopened with the Wilton Garden Club acting as rental agent/caretaker of the property.

When the Old Parsonage property, adjacent to the Old Town Hall on the east side, was sold in 1992, changes were made again to the building. The town built a new drive and doorway on the west side, both accessible for the disabled. The new construction opened up an opportunity for the Garden club to design a landscape plan for the new entryway. With contributions from club members and a PETALS grant, gardens of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals were planted, displaying four-season interest while enhancing the historic building.

Care and preservation of the Old Town Hall continues to be a major concern of the members of the Wilton Garden Club, and through their efforts, a very important part of Wilton's history has been preserved.

 

Would you be interested to rent Wilton's Old Town Hall for your special event?

Call Sally Ritchie at (203) 762-0103,  ext. 327.