At the northern end of the Region, it is on the outer edge of the Greater Toronto Area and is one of two of the primary population centres of the Town; the other is Georgetown.

[4][6] When the Mississaugas still had their reserve at Port Credit in the 19th century, they would come up to Acton every spring to tap the sugar bush just south of the village.

Originally part of Esquesing Township, Acton's principal trade was in grain, lumber, cordwood, leather and hops.

Under a bylaw passed by the Halton County Council in September 1873,[10] it was incorporated as a village in 1874,[5] and erected into a town in 1950.

[19] A number of subsequent owners operated the tannery business, before the Beardmore family purchased it in 1865, running it for over 50 years.

The Beardmore tannery was successfully sued for wrongful death in 1899, after an employee died in 1897 from anthrax poisoning arising from the handling of infected hides.

[25] In 1980, three investors decided to transform the tannery's warehouse into the Old Hide House, a retail store with leather clothing, goods and furniture.

These included Hewetson Shoe, Coronna Shoe, Superior Glove, Marzo Glove and Frank Heller and Co.[4][32] In the early 20th century, Acton was the main urban community of Esquesing Township, much larger than nearby Georgetown, Ontario which now has four times the population.

[48] Arrow was acquired by Gray Coach in May 1937,[49] which continued to operate buses through Acton until GO Transit took over in February 1976.

[50] From 1917 to 1931, Acton was also served by the Toronto Suburban Railway,[51] which early on entered into a notable dispute with the Beardmore tannery over a crossing with a Grand Trunk spur line in the town, that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for resolution.

The town's location was chosen because of the good source of water power from the Black Creek, and the flour mill established at the beginning is still in operation today, as part of Parrish & Heimbecker.

[59] There was once a moraine south of Fairy Lake called Cobble Hill (for a time also known as Mount Campbell),[60] which was high enough to afford panoramic views that were appreciated by local photographers.

[61] A gravel pit was established on it in the 19th century,[62] and the top of the hill was lopped off in two stages: first to form a dam for one of the tannery's filtering beds, and secondly for helping to level off sections of road during the construction of Highway 25 in 1949.

[67] The current (2018–2022) membership of the town council is as follows:[68] The Acton branch of the Halton Hills Public Library is located at 17 River Street.