Bolton has its roots in Lancashire where it was established as a textile town from the Middle Ages, but it was during the Industrial Revolution that it grew to become one of the major cotton manufacturing centres of the world. Engineering, paper making, bleaching, and dyeing followed, with thousands employed in the manufacture of textile machinery, steam engines, boilers, other heavy machinery, and tools in addition to the thousands employed in the spinning mills. As that heavy industry and textile manufacturing declined during the twentieth century, other more modern activities took their place and alongside the town's surviving historic and industrial buildings a modern town has developed. Colourful stories lie behind the face of today's Bolton, some of which are well known, although other events are well worth investigation. How exactly did the borough obtain a plentiful supply of clean drinking water during the period of its rapid expansion in the nineteenth century? What birth pangs accompanied the move towards local democracy after 1792? How is one street linked to two aviation tragedies? How did an American geologist come to make his mark and remain in Bolton for ever? With tales of remarkable characters, unusual events and surprising locations, Secret Bolton will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this town in Greater Manchester.