Bronte is a former fishing village which became annexed in 1962 with the former Township of Trafalgar, forming the Town of Oakville, along with the other formerly autonomous communities, including Sheridan.

The north-central part is industrialized while the west is mixed with some farmland, a former Petro-Canada refinery (which has closed and has yet to be dismantled as of 2010) and forests cover the northwest and includes Bronte Creek Provincial Park which cuts off Upper Middle Road.

Bronte's neighbourhood stretches from Burloak Drive in the west to Third Line, and from Lake Ontario in the south to Rebecca Street.

During the Waterfront Festival, the east field has carnival rides such as 1001 Niches and Polar Express, and features game kiosks.

Founded in 1834, Bronte began as a small fishing village at the mouth of Twelve Mile Creek.

Some of Bronte's original settlers were United Empire Loyalists and many of the streets were named for these founding fathers: Sovereign, Hixon, Nelson and Belyea.

Boats would gather stone slabs from shallow waters near the shore by hooking them from Lake Ontario for use in construction.

[1] The building at 49 Bronte Road built circa 1840 still remains as an example of construction using material stonehooked from the lake.

In the mid-20th century, Cities Service built a refinery just south of the QEW, west of Bronte Road.

In early March 2006, Stoneboats restaurant, which was partly located in one of Bronte's most historical buildings (built in circa 1840[2]), suffered heavy fire damage and was rebuilt.

[5] The mall was then redeveloped into 10- and 14-storey residential buildings with ground floor retail and a combined total of 480 luxury rental units, as well as a Rexall outlet.