Wilder is an unincorporated village and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) within the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

in Windsor County,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, United States. It is the location of the Wilder Dam on the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. The population of the CDP was 1,690 at the 2010 census. The village center is an early example of a planned mill community, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Wilder Village Historic District in 1999.

History

The village, originally known as Olcott Falls, is unique as an early

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

developed in part by Charles Wilder, owner of a local

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

in the 1880s.The Gateway of Vermont: Hartford and its Villages
c. 1904, reproduced by the Hartford Historical Society, 2004 One feature of Wilder's plan was an orderly street plan in which streets were laid out at right angles, with several of the streets named after trees. The village was renamed in honor of Charles Wilder in 1897. As of the earliest years of the 20th century, the local paper mill was operated by

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

and Wilder boasted a railroad station, a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, several retail stores, and electric

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

ing. An iron bridge contributed by Charles Wilder spanned the Connecticut River at Wilder. The bridge, the paper mill, and the dam that supplied power to the mill were all demolished in 1950 for the construction of Wilder Dam. The Wilder Village Historic District was listed on the

in 1999. The district covers and contains 203 contributing resources. It includes examples of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival style architecture with houses dating from the late 19th century to the 1950s. It encompasses the main surviving portions of Wilder's planned community, and is roughly bounded on the north by Chestnut Street, the east by Passumpsic Avenue, the south by Horseshoe Avenue, and the west by Hartford Avenue ( United States Route 5). This area is largely residential, with only a few commercial buildings and the local public library among the exceptions. with

Geography

Wilder is adjacent to the

and immediately north of the village of White River Junction. The CDP is bounded on the west by

Interstate 91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut, at I-95, whi ...

. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and 1.22% is water.

Demographics

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 2000, there were 1,636 people, 690 households, and 445 families residing in the CDP. 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 710 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.64%

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 ...

, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.55% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.12%

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 ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 1.22% 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 0.92% of the population. There were 690 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% 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, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.93. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,238, and the median income for a family was $55,000. Males had a median income of $35,833 versus $28,250 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 CDP was $21,802. About 4.5% 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 4.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Hartford town website

Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce

Hartford Historical Society

{{authority control Census-designated places in Vermont Planned communities in the United States Hartford, Vermont Vermont populated places on the Connecticut River Census-designated places in Windsor County, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont