Colton is located between the cities of Estacada and Molalla.

[2] The Post Office Department thought "Gorbett" would be confused with Corbett, so the community was named "Colton" instead.

The Colton post office was established the same year.

Colton areas include the ghost towns of: Old Colton, Elwood, Cedardale, Highland, Clarks, Dickey Prairie, and Fernwood.

Colton is located on Milk Creek, a tributary of the Molalla River, in a broad (narrow) canyon eroded in a plateau of volcanic basalts and ash of the nearby Western Cascades.