Township 143-80 is an unorganized township and has never had an official name. It is one of the two most southern townships of McLean County and the city of Wilton is situated within its boundaries. An early railroad siding, Roosevelt, started in 1902, was used when the Washburn Mines were in full production. In 1913 the siding was renamed Merida. It has since been discontinued. Coal mining was a very large industry in the 1890’s and early 1900’s at Wilton. Merida is mentioned in the Jennings story also. It was used as a shipping point for livestock and grain, not a post office.

Gen. W.D. Washburn, former U.S. Senator from Minnesota and flour mill industrial- St of Minneapolis purchased 113,000 acres of Northern Pacific grant lands and began to develop its resources. He established the Bismarck, Washburn, and Great calls R.R. from Bismarck and opened the Washburn Lignite Coal Mine in 1901. It soon became the largest in the state and they shipped many tons of coal to the eastern cities. In 1907 a brick yard was added with four large kilns.

This was a farm post office established April 23, 1898 with Paul Gady pm. It was located in NW 1/4 Sec. 30-143-80, four miles WNW of Wilton, and closed September 15, 1899 with mail to Falconer.

This Soo Line RR townsite was founded May 10, 1899 by General William Drew Washburn, who named it for his birthplace of Wilton, ME, which was named for Wilton, NH, which was named for Wilton, Wiltshire, England, Wilton is an Old English name meaning from the farmstead by the spring. The post office was established January 10, 1900 with Philip K. Eastman (1867-1949) pm. The village incorporated in 1902 and it became a city in 1912. For many years the city was a coal mining center, reaching a peak population of 1,001 in 1930. After a decline it has rebounded to a 1980 count of 950 residents, many of whom commute to Bismarck. The elevation is 2177, and the Zip Code is 58579. It is located in Sec. 2-142-80 Ecklund Twp., Burleigh County with the larger portion of the city being in McLean County.

Montefiore School Number1

Montefiore 1 School District - North Dakota / ND

Riverview Cemetery  Section 34

Saint Nicholas Cemetery  Section 26

Blessed Trinity National Orthodox Cemetery  Section 26 \
Sacred Heart Cemetery                                  Section 26     All use the same Cemetery Area
Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery                      Section 26 /

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