Roman Catholic missionaries first visited the area in the early to mid 1600s, attempting to Christianize the indigenous people, particularly the Neutral Nation on the Attiwandaronk Lands.
The first European settlers arrived in 1817,  and Roswell Matthews built a home here the next year.

Captain William Gilkison (1777-1833) was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to North America in 1796.
He served with the British forces in the War of 1812 as an assistant quartermaster-general, and in 1832 purchased some 14,000 acres of land in Nichol Township.
He selected this area near the falls of the Grand River as a town site for his proposed settlement and named it Elora.
It was laid out by Lewis Burwell, deputy provincial land surveyor, late in 1832, and the following year Gilkison established a sawmill and a general store.
The founder of Elora died in April, 1833, before the full results of his foresight and enterprise were achieved.

Elora was founded in 1832 by Captain William Gilkison, originally from Scotland, who was a British officer recently returned from India.
He had also served in the War of 1812, fighting the nascent United States.
He bought 14,000 acres of land on the Grand River and settled on the east side of the river.
The plan for the settlement was laid out by Lewis Burwell, in late 1832, when it was called Irvine Settlement.
By 1833, Gilkison had opened a sawmill and a general store.
Gilkison named the community after his brother's ship, which was itself inspired by the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.

Charles Allan and Andrew Geddes laid out a town site on the west side of the river.
By 1848, village lots were being sold and the settlement was incorporated into a village in 1858.
The commercial area was near the grist mill, by the waterfalls (Mill St.) and eventually moved further up the hill.

The Smith's Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes Elora as having a beautiful waterfalls and a deep channel carved by the river in the limestone rock.
At the time there were only 100 inhabitants but two churches, three mills and a post office.
Otherwise there were a few tradesmen and a single tavern.

In the 1850s and 1860s, Elora was a major agricultural marketplace.
Stores in the downtown area sold many types of goods.
The flour mill and saw mill were powered by the Grand River.
In 1869 the population was 1,500.
By 1870, several other mills, two distilleries, a carpet factory, tannery and two furniture factories were operating.
While there were some earlier private providers of electricity on a small scale, more extensive provision of power, by Ontario Hydropower, began in 1914.
Roman Catholic missionaries first visited the area in the early to mid 1600s, attempting to Christianize the indigenous people, particularly the Neutral Nation on the Attiwandaronk Lands. The first European settlers arrived in 1817,  and Roswell Matthews built a home here the next year.
Captain William Gilkison (1777-1833) was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to North America in 1796. He served with the British forces in the War of 1812 as an assistant quartermaster-general, and in 1832 purchased some 14,000 acres of land in Nichol Township. He selected this area near the falls of the Grand River as a town site for his proposed settlement and named it Elora. It was laid out by Lewis Burwell, deputy provincial land surveyor, late in 1832, and the following year Gilkison established a sawmill and a general store. The founder of Elora died in April, 1833, before the full results of his foresight and enterprise were achieved.
Elora was founded in 1832 by Captain William Gilkison, originally from Scotland, who was a British officer recently returned from India. He had also served in the War of 1812, fighting the nascent United States. He bought 14,000 acres of land on the Grand River and settled on the east side of the river. The plan for the settlement was laid out by Lewis Burwell, in late 1832, when it was called Irvine Settlement. By 1833, Gilkison had opened a sawmill and a general store. Gilkison named the community after his brother's ship, which was itself inspired by the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.
Charles Allan and Andrew Geddes laid out a town site on the west side of the river. By 1848, village lots were being sold and the settlement was incorporated into a village in 1858. The commercial area was near the grist mill, by the waterfalls (Mill St.) and eventually moved further up the hill.
The Smith's Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes Elora as having a beautiful waterfalls and a deep channel carved by the river in the limestone rock. At the time there were only 100 inhabitants but two churches, three mills and a post office. Otherwise there were a few tradesmen and a single tavern.
In the 1850s and 1860s, Elora was a major agricultural marketplace. Stores in the downtown area sold many types of goods. The flour mill and saw mill were powered by the Grand River. In 1869 the population was 1,500. By 1870, several other mills, two distilleries, a carpet factory, tannery and two furniture factories were operating. While there were some earlier private providers of electricity on a small scale, more extensive provision of power, by Ontario Hydropower, began in 1914.
Elora, Ontario