The Organizations
Churches
Church of Christ at Wilmington, Congregational (1732,r1766,1813,1866)
(17 original male members), Passmore, Passmore, Deming
Parish Society, 1834, to support the church privately rather than using town funds (1824, freedom of association)
Ladies Benevolent Society (LBS), 1857 to support Church's charitable efforts.
Branches of LBS (1920)
Junior Benevolent Association (1869), called Snowbirds in 1880 for young girls
(Notes on Colonial Meetinghouses: https://www.colonialmeetinghouses.com/mh_sandown.shtml, or the Danville, NH meetinghouse)
Freewill Baptist Society (1841-1864)
The Freewill Baptist Society, the Town's second recognized religious organization and their church date from the 1840s. When the congregation disbanded shortly after its founding, the building was repurposed by the Town and used as town offices, school classrooms, a jail and currently, a performing and visual arts practice and performance venue. The steeple appears to have survived at least until the placement of the Armed Services members Honor Roll but by the early 1960s it was gone. The facade has undergone changes also with the double entrances giving way to a left hand entry and a right hand window.
United Methodist Church (1881,r1917,1958)
Young peoples society (1888-1891)
Ladies Aid, later Woman's Society of Christian Service (1891, 1940) Passmore
Catholic Church (1888, 1960)
Children's class at McEnroe house (Squire Eames place) 1880
First Mass observed at McMahon home, 1884
Michael Carlin donated lot for St Thomas of Villanova, 1888
Catholic Club 1900
Silver Lake masses at a hall in Thompson's grove, 1919, and later St Dorothy's 1960
Villanova Hall built, offered for community/town meetings.
Hall/church swap, then new church built 1960
St Thomas Women's Club, 1977
Columbian Squires, for boys
Jewish Groups (1917-1967)
Open air observances on Salem Street near Tewksbury line, 1917
Ahavas Achim D'Aron, built 4 walls and a roof, purchased Torah by 1930
Wilmington Hebrew Community Center, 1942
Combined by 1967 as Temple Shalom
Forest Street Chapel (1929)
Wilson Memorial Community Church
Second Congregational Church 1930
Forest Street Congregational Church 1940s
Forest Street Chapel of St Marks Episcopal Church, 1979
Jehovah's Witnesses (1959)
First met in the Grange Hall on Wildwood St., 1959
Broke ground for Kingdom Hall on Bridge Lane, 1960
Bible Speaks Ministry (1974)
Baptists
Pioneers (1966), for girls
The Brigade (1968), for boys (Stockade/Battalion for younger/older boys)
Wilmington Council of Churches (1952)
Civic Groups
Overview, by Adele C Passmore and Arlene A Suprenant
1775, Minutemen (Original), by William G Meyer
1865, Young People's Literary and Musical Society, Passmore
1873, Wilmington Glee Club Passmore
1875, Farmers and Mechanics Club (1875) Passmore, H A Sheldon
1877, Wilmington Brass Band (around 1877, 1898)
1901, Friendship Masonic Lodge, A. F. & A. M, Passmore
1901, Order of the Eastern Star, Acacia Chapter #80
1901, Wilmington Womens Club, 1901, Passmore
1907, Wilmington Grange No 268, Passmore
1914, Boy Scouts, Passmore
1920s-30s, 4-H Clubs, MIddlesex County Extension Service, Passmore
1920/40, Girl Scouts
1943, Wilmington Rainbow Girls (under Acacia Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star)
1945, Community Fund
1960, Golden Agers
1961 Wilmington Nurses Association
1967, Wilmington Sons of Italy
1968, Minutemen (Re-activated), by Passmore
1969, "Skirts and Flirts" Square Dance Club
1970, Wilmington Spotlighters (amateur theater group)
1973, Wilmington Historical Commission (Town officials)
1976, Friends of the Harnden Tavern
1978, Newcomers Club
Campfire Girls, (Bluebird/Adventure/Discovery)
Drum and Bugle Corps
Dance Club
Figure Skating Club
Tennis Club
Shriners, Aleppo Auditorium, York Rite and Scottish Rite Masons
Community Service
1944, Rotary Club, "Service above Self"
1954, Lions Club, Eye Research
1960, Knights of Columbus, Serves Elderly and Needy
1966, Kiwanis Club, "To make this a better place for our fellow men, especially youth"
Newspapers
In-Town
Wilmington Morning Shouter and Evening Comet by Wilmington Farmers' and Mechanics' Club
Wilmington News, 1920s-1930s, R Edgar Sargent (GNLJ-2PS), Editor, Laurence Hanscom, Reporter. 1930, 8 pages, 1932, then Edward Manning (GDTB-XYR)
Wilmington Crusader, 1937-1959, Ref, Ref2, Staley J Bocko, Publisher, Larz Neilson, Editor, Richard A Patterson, Business Manager. (Pub. each Wednesday)
Town Crier, Nov 17, 1955-?? Town Crier, Capt. Larz F Neilson, Editor (Pub. each Thursday)
Nearby
Woburn Journal (1880s, example)
Woburn Advertiser
Lowell Journal
Middlesex Journal
Boston Globe
Herald and Journal (ex. Town Farm article)
Public Safety
Fire Department, Passmore, Deming
Police Department, Passmore, Deming, wpd.org by Chalifour
Schools
First mentioned in town records in 1815, Deming
South (pre 1730- )
Built at the corner of Butters Row and Main Street
Meeting location when requesting incorporation as town, 1730
Rebuilt 1894
West
Built in 1770s (across the street from current location)
Built in 1875 (current location)
North
One-room schoolhouse ("Nod" School), five grades
Location replaced by North Intermediate School
East
Second school rebuilt in 1847, converted into a home in 1970s
Center (1840-1889)
Currently the 4th of July Building
Converted to town's first Library in 1889
1905, an addition on the building as a Library
"Select School"a room in Town Hall
First graduating class 1874
New Centre School 1888
Town's first multi-room schoolhouse
Became Center Elementary School in 1915
Walker School 1896
Town's first four-room elementary school, still in service in 1980
Whitefield School 1904
Across from the Whitefield Elm
Became Town Hall Annex in 1979
High School (Later "Swain School") 1914-1950
Converted to Junior High in 1950-1956
Converted to Elementary School 1956-1979
Maple Meadow School, 1929
Two-room school off Lowell Street
Silver Lake Portable (now bathhouse at Town Beach), 1929
Two-room school
Buzzell School 1935
Six-room elementary School
Silver Lake School (Later "Mildred Rogers School"), 1935
Wilmington High School, 1950,r1956,r1959
"Modern Schools"
Wildwood 1954
North Intermediate, 1954
Glen Road, 1954
Boutwell, 1954
West Intermediate,
Woburn Street
Shawsheen
Wilmington Middle School, 2000
Wilmington High School, 2015
Current State, a MSBA Presentation, by Glen Brand
Veterans Groups
1919, American Legion Post 136 (Grange Hall, then 1934 to Catholic Club Hall on Middlesex Ave, then down Lowell St)
1921, Legion Auxiliary, wives of American Legion Members
1918, Gold Star Mothers
1932, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Nee-Ellsworth Post 2458
1933, VFW Auxiliary, wives, daughters, or sisters of VFW members
1951, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) William F Tattersall Post 106
DAV Auxiliary, family of DAV members
1979, Royal Canadian Legion Post 177