The community had its origins with the British Crown granting the west half of lots six and seven, concession 7 of Vaughan Township to Jacob Philips and Hugh Cameron in 1802.

During the early half the 19th century, a school was built on Vaughan's eighth concession; and a flour mill and store flourished.

Woodbridge itself, however, did not begin to take the form of a settlement or village until the arrival of Rowland Burr in 1837, a local highly-regarded architect and builder at the time.

[2] It had been named "Burwick" after him prior to his arrival, and he moved there to reside in a log house in the growing village near the Humber River.

[3] The name "Woodbridge" was put forward by the son-in-law of John Gamble (reeve of Vaughan at the time) after his home town in England.

[2] By 1880, the settlement had two general stores, a carriage works, two churches, a school, two hotels, a library, two newspapers and a post office.

As the population increased it was pressured by the citizens to add a post office so there would be no confusion with another settlement in Canada West.

Construction of Highway 7 began in the 1920s, passing south of the business section of town via the Canadian Pacific Railway underpass built in 1929-1930 (the original roadway followed a portion of McKenzie Street, and once crossed the tracks at-grade before looping south down the hill to Wallace St. and the Humber River bridge).

In the 1950s, Woodbridge experienced spillover growth from suburban Metropolitan Toronto, which ultimately led to its defined area expanding far beyond the village's then-incorporated boundaries.

After the aforementioned drive-in was closed, Martin Grove Road was extended northward through the former property to serve more developments.

Two examples of historic buildings include a Tinsmith Shop and Masonic Lodge (c. 1850) and the Burwick family home (from 1844 on Pine Street) that were moved to Black Creek Pioneer Village.

Woodbridge was chosen as the new location for a research based mental health facility, the OCD and Anxiety Clinic of Ontario.

The area was mainly farmland before the onset of suburbanization in the 1970s, but the residential communities are interspersed with forests along the Humber River and its eastern branch.

Today, much of the area is residential with commercial and industrial properties to the south, close to Steeles Avenue and to the east near Pine Valley Drive.

Woodbridge winters feature cold snaps where maximum temperatures remain below −10 °C (14 °F), often made to feel colder by wind chill.

Spring and autumn are transitional seasons, with generally mild or cool temperatures and alternating dry and wet periods.