Bolton

BOLTON -- Some towns invite commercial development in, to bring relief to residential taxpayers.

But residents here want to preserve the rural atmosphere of this affluent Worcester County town and are more interested in expanding conservation land and supporting their schools than they are in expanding the limited commercial base.

"The town is not favorable to commercial development. . . . Bolton is attractive to residents because it has maintained its rural, agricultural beauty, yet still allowing homes to be built," Town Administrator Jodi Ross said. "We still have working farms and are taking action to secure these for future generations."

Some 25 percent of the town's 20 square miles is under some form of protection, according to Bolton's master plan. With the help of the non profit Bolton Conservation Trust, the town has about 2,000 acres in conservation land, which provide hundreds of miles of trails.

Located in the Nashoba River region, Bolton's generally hilly terrain made it attractive for farming, not industry, when Europeans first settled here in the late 1600s. Development pressures are expected to be constant given its proximity to both Worcester and Boston and its predominant base of single-family homes.

On a recent week, Realtor.com listed 66 single-family homes, ranging from $299,900 for a three-bed, one-bath, 1,200-square-foot home to $3 million for a four-bed, five-bath, 5,700-square-foot home on 2.6 acres. Median price of a single-family home through September was $460,000, according to Warren Group, which publishes real estate information.

JOHN RICHARDSON ELLEMENT