Situated on the Credit River at the intersection of Highway 7 and Winston Churchill Boulevard (locally named Adamson Street), it is located immediately east of Georgetown and approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the current urban boundary of Brampton.

[1] In 1846, the settlement had a population of about 200 inhabitants, served by two churches, various tradesmen, a gristmill, an oatmeal mill, a distillery, two stores and a tavern.

[2] Norval became a thriving village, complete with a broom factory, ashery, bakery, woollen and flax mills, carriage works, a blacksmith and harness shops, brass foundry, general stores, several hotels, a Mechanics' Institute and an Orange Lodge.

Upper Canada College's Norval Outdoor School is located nearby at 10444 Winston Churchill Boulevard.

Author Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series, lived in Norval from 1926 to 1935.