Jacob Langs and his family were early settlers who arrived from Pennsylvania in 1810, and purchased 297 acres (120 ha) of farmland.[3] That same year, a road from Hamilton to London was built through the settlement, which was called "Langs'ford", because travellers needed to ford a swampy stream east of Langs' farm.[3][4] "Langs'ford" was the name first used by the post office, and later changed to "Langford".[3] Daily stagecoach service between Ancaster and Brantford—passing through Langford—began in 1829, and a church was erected in 1868 called New Plank Road Wesleyan Methodist Church, because wooden planks covered the muddy road through the community.[3][5]
The population in 1883 was approximately 200.[6]
The early settlement contained a blacksmith shop, brickyard, general store, a "long and straggling row of houses" fronting on the road, and a school called Langford School, established in 1886.[4][6]
