Before the early pioneers arrived in this area, it was inhabited by the Mississaugas, a peaceful branch of the Chippewa or Ojibway nation of Algonquin native people. The Mississaugas were a nomadic tribe, living and hunting in an area before moving on to a better location. When the French arrived, the Mississaugas became involved in the fur trade, buying furs from more-western tribes and selling to the French at the mouth of the Credit River. As wildlife disappeared and settlers started to arrive, the Mississaugas started to sell their land.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Joseph Brant was awarded land at the head of Lake Ontario. land that now comprises Burlington from Francis Road in the west to the mouth of Rambo Creek in the east. On his grant, called Brant's Block, Brant built a house at a site that's now covered by the QEW and an extension to the hospital. The house has been recreated on the south side of the intersection of Maple Avenue and Lakeshore Road and is now the Joseph Brant Museum.

In 1806, the Mississaugas sold the southern part of their land to the Upper Canada government. The land purchased extended from Burlington Bay to the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek and about six miles north. It includes the lake frontage of the cities of Burlington, Oakville, and Mississauga.

After Brant died in 1807, his land was sold off to settlers, who became the first white residents of Burlington. Brant and his son John, also a noted chief of the Mohawks, were first buried near their Burlington home but the remains were later moved to the Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford.

As Brant's land was sold, the name of the block was changed to Wellington Square. The first person to buy land from Brant was Nicholas Kern, who bought 200 acres in 1803. Two Welshmen, Thomas Ghent and Ashael Davis, bought land in 1805 or 1806. They were Loyalists who had moved here from North Carolina. They may have brought apple seeds with them, starting all those apple orchards around Burlington. An early developer was James Gage of what is now Battlefield House in Stoney Creek, who bought 338 acres, surveyed them, sold the lots, and then built factories and a warehouse in the area. Gage never lived here.

In the War of 1812, the main advanced base for the British forces was at Burlington Heights, which is where Dundurn Castle is now located. Highway 403 now travels across the Heights with Burlington Bay to the east and Coote's Paradise to the west.

Places to see in Burlington are:

• Brant Museum

Brant Museum

This museum building is a reconstruction of Joseph Brant's house, which stood where interchange 97 of the QEW is located.

• Ireland House, 2168 Guelph Line

Ireland House

Joseph Ireland from Bowes in Yorkshire followed his brother John to Canada in 1818. In 1820, he bought 100 acres of land near Dundas Street and the track now known as Guelph Line and by 1847 had expanded it to over 1000 acres. As his fortunes improved, so did his residence so that, by 1835, he could afford a stone house. The house was finished in 1837 and extended less than a decade later. The Irelands lived here until 1985, a four-generation span, when Lucie Marie died and her cousin sold it to the City of Burlington. Nearly all of the furnishings belonged to the Ireland family and the house has been restored to three time periods: the 1850s of Joseph, the 1890s of John, and the 1920s of George.