Bolton is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,182 at the 2010 census, up from 971 in 2000. The town is home to Bolton Valley, a popular ski resort for local residents. The principal transportation artery of the town is U.S. Route 2, which follows the north bank of the Winooski River. Interstate 89 passes through the town, parallel to Route 2, but does not have an interchange there.
Geography
Bolton is located in eastern Chittenden County, bordered to the east by Washington County. The main crest of the Green Mountains runs north to south through the eastern part of the town, and the Winooski River, running east to west, cuts through the mountains south of the center of the town. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.65%, is water. The character of the town is predominantly rural. There are four principal settlements:
Bolton proper is in the Winooski River valley, on the north side of the river.
West Bolton is in the northwest corner of the town, and is accessed primarily from the adjacent town of Jericho.
A thin strip of land, known as "the back side of the river", is located south of the Winooski River. The only road access is through the neighboring towns of Richmond and Duxbury.
A small number of year-round residents live near the Bolton Valley ski area in the northeast part of the town.
Bolton has its own elementary school. Pre K - grade 4. The Ellen P. Smilie Memorial School's benefactor was Ellen Pinneo, born in 1849 on Pinneo Flats in Bolton. She attended the Pinneo Flats School, which, years later was destroyed by the flood of 1927. Ellen married Melville Smilie and moved to Montpelier where she lived for many years until her death on December 17, 1933. After the flood of 1927 washed away her old schoolhouse, she donated $1000 toward the rebuilding of another school on Pinneo Flats. In her will, she bequeathed a sum of money to the Memorial School. When I - 89 was constructed through Bolton and cut off access to the Memorial School, it was demolished to make way for "progress" and in 1960 part of the present school was erected. In September 1999, a large addition was completed adding five new classrooms and a large gym to the existing building. A final gift was made that made it possible to enlarge the library facility and increase the number of books. The school is exceptional with a strong partnership with Smilie families and Townspeople. On November 4, 2014, the communities of Bolton, Jericho, Richmond, Underhill ID and Underhill Town voted to form the Mount Mansfield Modified Union School District, also known as the MMMUSD. This new school district serves and governs the current town school districts of Bolton, Jericho, Richmond, Underhill ID School District, Underhill Town, Mt Mansfield Union School District in grades Pre-K through 12 and Huntington students grades 5-12.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 971 people, 368 households, and 260 families residing in the town. The population density was 22.9 people per square mile. There were 412 housing units at an average density of 9.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.15% White, 0.10% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population. There were 368 households, of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couplesliving together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,625, and the median income for a family was $55,486. Males had a median income of $39,375 versus $28,958 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,256. About 3.6% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.
