  We have obtained V and I-band photometry for 1886 stars down to I=27 and V=28
in the field of the dwarf irregular galaxy WLM, using deep STIS CL and LP-band
images taken in the parallel mode with the Hubble Space Telescope. The
photometry is used to study the horizontal branch identified in WLM. The
horizontal branch, extending blueward from the red giant clump, is an
unambiguous signature of an old population. We demonstrate that it is possible
to reach the horizontal branch of an old population at a distance of ~1 Mpc
using STIS, with relatively short exposure times. From the VI color-magnitude
diagram we obtain an accurate distance modulus (m-M)_0 = 24.95 \pm 0.13 for WLM
by using the V-magnitude of the horizontal branch, and by adopting E(V-I)=0.03.
The implications are: 1) WLM formed stars at high redshift, and 2) the old
population of WLM can be representative of a protogalactic fragment, related to
those accreted to form the Milky Way halo.
