Following is an outline is for the history of Brampton, the third largest city in Ontario, Canada. European settlers arrived began to settle the area in the early 19th century, with Brampton being formally incorporated into a village in 1853.

The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation held 648,000 acres of land north of the Head of the Lake Purchase lands and extending to the unceded territory of the Chippewa of Lakes Huron and Simcoe. The area of present-day Brampton was covered by the Ajetance Purchase of 1818 between James Ajetance, the chief of the Mississaugas of Credit, and the United Kingdom.

Prior to 1834, the only building of consequence at the corner of Hurontario Street and the 5th Sideroad (now Main and Queen Streets in the centre of Brampton), was William Buffy's tavern. In fact, at the time, the area was referred to as "Buffy's Corners". Most business in Chinguacousy Township took place one mile distant at Martin Salisbury's tavern. By 1834, John Elliott laid out the area in lots for sale applied the name "Brampton" to the area, which was soon adopted by others.

In 1853, a small agricultural fair was set up by the then-new County Agricultural Society of the County of Peel, and was held at the corner of Main and Queen streets. Grains, produce, roots, and dairy products were up for sale, a precursor of today's Brampton Farmers' Market. Horses and cattle, along with other lesser livestock, were sold at market. This agricultural fair eventually became the modern Brampton Fall Fair. In that same year Brampton was incorporated as a village. In 1856, a terminal and railroad line were developed in Brampton by the Grand Trunk Railway.

In January 1867, Peel County separated from the County of York, a union which had existed since 1851. In 1884 a group of mechanics of the Haggert Foundry of Brampton formed what is now known as the Brampton Concert Band, one of Canada's oldest community concert bands. By 1869, Brampton had a population of 1,800.

In 1902, Sir William J. Gage (owner of Gage Publishing, a publishing house specializing in school text books) purchased a 3.25 acres (1.3 hectares) part of the gardens and lawns of the Alder Lea estate (now called Alderlea) that had been built on Main Street by Kenneth Chisolm in 1867 to 1870. (Chisholm, a merchant and founding father of Brampton, had been the Town reeve, then warden of Peel County, then MPP for Brampton and eventually, Registrar of Peel County.) Sir William donated 1.7 acres (0.7 hectares) of the property to the town, with a specific condition that it be made into a park. Citizens donated $1,054 and the town used the funds to purchase extra land to ensure a larger park.

In 1922, when the town's population had reached 8,000, the Capitol Theatre was built in downtown Brampton. Its schedule consisted of primarily of vaudeville and silent movies. A group of regional farmers in Brampton had trouble getting insurance from city-based companies. After several meetings in Clairville Hall, it was decided that they should found the County of Peel Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1955, the company moved to its third and current location, 103 Queen Street West, and renamed itself Peel Mutual Insurance Company. It reigns as the longest running company in modern Brampton. Harmsworth Decorating Centre was established in 1890, as Harmsworth and Son, operated out of the family's house on Queen Street West. The store purchased its current location on September 1, 1904, after a fire destroyed their original store. Purchased for $1400, the 24 Main Street South location is the longest operating retail business in what is now Brampton.

The Brampton Mall was built in 1960 on Main Street, near Peel Village, marking the community's first mall.