The area was recorded as being settled as early as 1798, when a crown patent for lots 29, 30, 32 & 33, "Con. 1 with the Broken Front, Township of Pickering,
County of York and
Home District, Province of Upper Canada", was granted to William Holmes, Esquire. From the 1802 survey of Pickering Deputy Provincial Surveyor General Sir David Smith held 4800 acres land on the east side of the Broken Front from the shoreline of Lake Ontario to 2nd Concession. In 1843 Henry Cowan, an immigrant from Ayr, Scotland, bought lots 32 & 33 from Holmes and settled the land with his family. In 1848 Cowan sold a small portion of his land on the shores of Lake Ontario to the Grand Trunk Railway Company. In 1852 it became part of
Ontario County. opened in southwestern West Rouge in 1967. In the years following, much of the land was sold. In 1948, the land that is now a housing development between Rouge Hills Dr. and Ridgewood was sold to Rouge Hills Golf and Country Club Limited. The country club and golf course were closed in 1973. In May 1967,
Rouge Hill GO Station was opened at the southwestern boundary of West Rouge, providing residents of the neighbourhood access to
GO Transit's
commuter rail network. Until 1974 West Rouge was not part of current City of Toronto or the former City/Borough of Scarborough, but it was considered part of the township of Pickering. When Ontario County was reorganized as
Durham Region that year, it was transferred to the then-borough of Scarborough under
Metropolitan Toronto. ==Education==