[4] Settlement of this area, with rich soil and large forests, within Townsend Township, started in 1794, and by 1782 Paul Averill was operating saw and grist-mills on Nanticoke Creek.

By 1851, Waterford contained the Township Hall and many industries, including a large agricultural implements factory built by James Green.

An electric railway, Canadian Pacific's Lake Erie and Northern Railway, once operated in Waterford; the official fare from Galt to Waterford was a mere C$1.05 ($13.52 in the day's gold-money) while taking it to nearby Simcoe cost C$1.25 plus taxes (C$43.25 in today's gold-money equivalent at US$1250 per ounce and C$1.33 to US$1 exchange rate).

CP trains then ran between Brantford and Waterford on the Toronto Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, crossing over the Canada Southern via crossovers onto a connecting track to rejoin the LE&N just south of the steel bridge over the CASO.

Area farmers generally suffered from the decline of the tobacco industry, but natural health and organic crops are being explored, such as ginseng, as well as lavender and wine grapes.

[11] Waterford traditionally belongs to the humid continental climate zone, even with the recent epidemic of mild winters and extremely warm and dry summers.

As in all communities, towns and cities throughout the world, global warming due to human industrial activity has drastically altered the climate of Waterford over the decades.