[3] Bordering the property of George Fife Angas, Hamilton was home to a few farmers and gardeners, but its population was sparse; the suburb was laid out in 1939, but was not officially proclaimed until 1961.

The largely rural area with scattered old homes and farmhouses supported market gardens, vineyards, almond fields and horse trotting tracks; these were the main uses of the land until its development the early 1960s.

[4] The western side of current-day Ascot Avenue (section 478), although also settled early in the state's life, had a slow development.

Vale House was built around 1840, and still stands today next to its gatehouse, making it the oldest residential building in South Australia.

Historical figures associated with the property include Colonel Frome, Levi and his descendants, Sir Richard Chaffey Baker, George Downer, Edward Meade Bagot, and John Barker.

Further east of Levi's property was Vale Farm, on which stood the timber Manning House, surrounded by flower gardens, which was at one time the home of Colonel Frome.

In 1970, Ascot Avenue was constructed with a bridge across the River Torrens, replacing Lansdowne Terrace as the main thoroughfare, which changed the nature of the suburb, as it was effectively split in half, resulting in a distinct variance in the character of housing on both sides of the suburb, also in part because of the originally differing council boundaries.

Much of the original housing stock of the suburb has been undergoing demolition and renewal since the 2010s, with subdivisions of varying degrees occurring as a result of urban infill.

Edward Washington (11 January 1923 – 24 December 1984) was another market gardener in the area, and the family house still stands on Wallace Street.

The Harris family owned Willow Bend, and cultivated a large almond field and fruit collection; one of the patriarch's daughters married Hugh Wallace (13 September 1897 – 1 December 1970).