Founded as a village in 1888, Knowlton amalgamated in 1971 with the Canton of Brome (1845) and the village of Foster (1917) to form the Town of Brome Lake (Ville de Lac-Brome), in the region known as Montérégie. The town of Knowlton takes its name from Colonel Paul Holland Knowlton (1787-1863), who retired in the town in 1834.

After growing up near Lake Memphrémagog, Paul Knowlton began farming on the edge of Lake Brome in 1815, where he also set up a store and a distillery. In 1827, the government made him a Land Agent. From 1830 to 1834, he was the area's member of parliament for Lower Canada. When the first regional highway was built, he left his farm to settle by the Coldbrook stream that flows into Lake Brome. There, this son of United Empire Loyalists built a sawmill, an ironworks, a potassium plant, a store and a grain mill - an industrial base around which the present town was built.

Colonel Kowlton was active in many fields that led to the region's development: farming, history, journalism, the militia and politics. His ceasless lobbying for greater power and representation for the Eastern Townships was soon reflected in the area's place names. The first post office, opened in 1851, was called Knowlton, which soon became the name of the village itself. By 1867, the town had attracted many rich merchants from the Montreal area, who built country villas in and around the town. The town's recreational vocation soon took off with the development of a network of hotels. Many city people continue to play an active role in the local economy. The hamlet of Knowlton's Landing, on the shores of Lake Memphrémagog some 20 km east of Knowlton village, recalls the first settlement of the Knowlton family.

Source: Noms et lieux du Québec