Barely Hanging On: The Village of Wilmot, Tuscola County

It’s easy to overlook the little village of Wilmot, even when you drive through. There are a couple of Wilmots in Michigan, but this is the one in Tuscola County.

Wilmot remains an unincorporated community that began in 1868 when Oscar Watson showed up and bought some land from the government. It soon became a stop on the Pontiac, Oxford & Northern Railroad, and in 1883 Wilmot was platted. That same year a post office opened, making Wilmot official.

With a few stores for the public, one storekeeper, Ozro McComb, was appointed as the first postmaster.

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So where did the name “Wilmot” come from? Not from Oscar Wilson and CERTAINLY not from Ozro McComb. The community was named after John F. Wilmot, as historically recorded by Reverend Raymond Pilarski.

Who the heck was John F. Wilmot?
He came to Tuscola County in 1872 from Kingston, Ontario when he was 20 years old. A tinsmith, John settled in Caro, 13 miles away from the yet-unnamed Wilmot. He worked in hardware and opened up his own tin shop. Moving up into the respectable ranks of Caro society, John became president of the village as well as one of the trustees, and for two years was president and business manager of the Caro Citizen newspaper. He gained greater respectability as the first president of the Caro District Agricultural Society.

With all this fame in Caro, shouldn’t they have renamed ‘Caro’ as ‘Wilmot’?
No, they chose a different location 13 miles away for that honor.

The post office operated until March 31, 1943, and from there the town failed to grow any further. Some cool old buildings remain, but you gotta drive through the blocks to see them.