The hamlet was located around what is now the intersection of
Dundas Street and
Bronte Road.[1] The settlement was established in 1805 by Lawrence Hagar, a settler to
Upper Canada from
Pennsylvania.[2] The village was named Hagartown until 1836 when it was renamed to Palermo in honour of
Horatio Nelson, Lord of Palermo.[2]
In 1869, the population was 300.[3] In 1875, the village had an
iron foundry, two stores, and a hotel. At that time its population was 150.[4] By the 1870s, the village also had a wagon shop, blacksmith shop, harness shop,
brick school house, churches, a
telegraph office and drill shed.[1] The village, along with other villages in
Trafalgar Township, became part of Oakville in 1962, when the township was amalgamated into Oakville.[5]