2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 7 buildings between them. Most of Bolton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1790.
The Bolton post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Bolton (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 88 in 17902020 census: 1,301213 years
How historic is Bolton?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bolton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bolton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bolton is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bolton’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bolton’s 60.2 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bolton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bolton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bolton is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,301 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is home to Bolton Valley, a popular ski resort. The main road passing through the town is U.S. Route 2, which follows the north bank of the Winooski River. Interstate 89 also passes through the town, parallel to Route 2, but does not have an interchange there.
Its first post office opened in 1813. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,182 to 1,301 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bolton in 1886
Passages that mention Bolton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 385Read the page →
Read the text
The principal highways in Bolton are as follows : A road running through the entire township, keeping close to Winooski River, being the old turnpike leading from Burlington to Montpelier ; a road running through the "Notch," as it is called, from West Bolton and meeting the first mentioned road at a point two miles north of Bolton Station ; a stage road running westerly from West Bolton to the village of Jonesville, in Richmond. The town is crossed by the Central Vermont Railroad, which keeps close to Winooski River.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers1886 · page 388Read the page →
Read the text
The area of the chartered tract remained the same until October 27, 1794, Vkfhen a part of the town of Huntington was annexed to Bolton ; but, titles being questioned and law suits resulting, the same was re-annexed to Huntington on the loth of November, 1808. Another change was the annexation of a part of Bolton to Richmond, on the 25th of October, 1804.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Bolton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
The Bolton post office opened in 1813, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bolton rank for history?
Bolton is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bolton?
Two places: the Honey Hollow Camp (listed 1994) and the Preston-Lafreniere Farm (1999).
How old are the homes in Bolton?
2% of Bolton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1986.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2017
2004
