Bolton (Ontario) 5.55

Bolton is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, located in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. In regional documents, it is referred to as a 'Rural Service Centre.' It has 26,478 residents in 8,721 households. The downtown and area that historically defined the village is in a valley, through which flows the Humber River. The current village extends on either side of the valley to the north and south.GeographyThe conservation lands' forests dominate a large part of the northwest, the north, the east including along the Humber valley. These conservation lands have created several recreational areas; including parts of the Humber Valley Heritage Trail. Farmland and the protected Oak Ridges Moraine dominate the landscape surrounding the village.There are two 400-series highways nearby, including Highway 427, about 15 km southeast (by Highway 7), and Highway 400, about 14 km east (exit at King Road).HistoryThe town, formerly known as Bolton Mills, was founded in around 1822 when James Bolton helped build a flour mill for his relative George Bolton.By 1857, Bolton was a village with a population of 700 in the Township of Albion County Peel. It was established on the River Humber on the line of the proposed Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway. There were stages to and from Weston. The average price of land was $40 to $50 an acre.