Norton is a town in the province of Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. It is located about 40 km west of Harare on the main road and railway line connecting Harare and Bulawayo. According to the 1982 Population Census, the town had a population of 12,360. This rose to 20, 405 in the 1992 census, and 44,054 in the 2002 census. The settlement began in 1914 when a railway siding was built. The town was named after the Norton family who were farming in the area since the 1890s and were murdered in the First Chimurenga. The town grew as an industrial centre in a rich agricultural area. It has a large pulp and paper mill, a brewery and an ostrich export abattoir. The crops grown in the surrounding farm lands include tobacco, maize and wheat. Beef and dairy farming also takes place.