Some localities of New Ross have colloquial names, including Charing Cross, Seffernville, Harriston, Aaldersville, the Forties Settlement, Mill Road, Leville, New Russell, Lake Ramsay, and Fraxville.

[4] Prior to the arrival of the former Fencibles, the Mi'kmaq were the only inhabitants of what is now New Ross, and the limited number in the area had numerous friendly interactions with the new settlers.

The community was settled in 1816 by a disbanding group of 172 soldiers of the Nova Scotia Fencibles as Sherbrooke, principally among them Captain William Ross.

In return for their service in the War of 1812 and in hopes of settling the interior of Nova Scotia,[5] Governor George Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie granted land to the soldiers and their families between Chester and Kentville.

Numerous historical letters and diaries from the Ross family dating back to their arrival were found in its attic, which have been preserved by the Nova Scotia Archives and are viewable online.

[2] Despite this, the property owner and others have posited that the site may have been Viking ruins, a hideout for exiled nobles after the English Civil War, or a base built by the 14th century Scottish Earl Henry Sinclair and surviving members of the Knights Templar while in possession of the Holy Grail.

[11] In response to several pseudohistorical books on the subject, former Nova Scotia archivist, government Head of Heritage, and local historian Dr. Brian Cuthbertson[12] concluded in 1994 using historical maps and letters the site was of an early 19th century blacksmith shop.