In 1820, Adam Stull began to settle in the area between Acton and Georgetown. He established a sawmill. James Clendenning purchased land in the area as well and continued the sawmill operations. He named the small community Fountain Green in 1840. John Newton settled in the area in 1842 and purchased the sawmill and made improvements. He became the first postmaster in 1857 and renamed the village to Limehouse.

Certificate of post office registration showing signature of postmaster J. Newton, 1883. MG1 B2 10.08, Esquesing Historical Society. Click on the image for more details.

The lime industry developed in the 1840s and 1850s, with Ninian Lindsay credited as one of the first in the business. Two companies began to operate: Lindsay and Farquhar, and Bescoby and Washington. The village grew slowly, with building lots not surveyed until 1856 and 1858. By 1861 there were only 17 registered landowners. With help from the lime industry and the Grand Trunk Railway running through the area in 1856, the village began to grow. There were soon three hotels, three stores, two quarries, several mills and of course the lime industry. Newton, a busy man, also established a woolen mill in 1862, the Empire Blanket Mill. The village reached its peak population around 1875.

A fire on October 12, 1893, ravaged the industrial area. It wiped out the woolen mill, a paint factory, the Newton homestead and considerable wood supply for the lime kilns.

A view of the Gowdy and Moore Saw Mill and lime kilns, taken from the south side of the railway tracks, c. 1891. EHS00308, Esquesing Historical Society. Click on the image for more details.

The last kilns in the Limehouse area shut down around the 1920s. The Toronto Suburban Railway’s Radial Line ran south of Limehouse in 1915 but closed in 1931. Once the lime kilns closed, most other operations also quietly receded in the hamlet.

In 1933, Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to Canada’s House of Commons, gave a speech at a garden party in Limehouse. Lucy Maud Montgomery, who was living in Norval at the time, was in attendance as well.

View of the commercial section of Limehouse. The large building in foreground is the old Nickel building and the background is the location of Joe Scott's Store, the old hotel (Gisby's) and Art Benton's store, c. 1908. EHS00311, Esquesing Historical Society. Click on the image for more details.

In June 1999 the Limehouse Kiln Society formed in response to the deteriorating condition of the historic limekilns. They have worked hard to restore and preserve this important part of local history. As part of Limehouse Conservation Area, the kilns can be visited on the park’s trails. As of 2022, the Town of Halton Hills is also continuing other park developments in the area to capture its natural beauty and history.