It was proclaimed on 25 July 1878, severing the seven-year old settlement of Jamestown from the surrounding District Council of Belalie.
The first mayor was John Cockburn, later Premier of South Australia, with George Hingston Lake as town clerk.
Under the new council, it instituted a tree planting program from 1879, reportedly the first town in rural South Australia to do so.
In the 1950s, the council offices were based out of the former Jamestown Institute, by then converted to a memorial hall.
In 1979, the council launched a program of kerbing and sealing Jamestown streets.