Upon the construction of Highway 6, known formerly as the Plank Road, a small village popped up around 1855 when Charles and David Hager bought most of the land in the centre of the area.

The building of the Canada Southern Railroad in 1870, and of the Hamilton and Lake Erie Railway three years later helped to make Hagersville a prosperous village in 1879.

In 1852, Charles Hager built a frame hotel at the corner of the Plank Road and Indian Line.

[5] In 1990, a large uncontrolled tire fire emitted fumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere for seventeen days.

The so-called "Hagersville Tire Fire" has reportedly been linked to long-term health issues, including some "rare, aggressive cancers," among firefighters who experienced the event first-hand.

[12] Of the total population, 87.5% are European, 9% are First Nation and 3.5% are visible minorities (mostly Filipino, South Asian and Latin American).