The establishment of what is now Mount Albert began in the early 19th century, when land in the area was indeed by the Crown to friends of the Family Compact, the governing council of Upper Canada. In 1821, Samuel and Rufus Birchard, Quakers from Vermont, bought parcels of land, and by 1850, a village had matured. Originally the settlement was called Birchardville. The name was later changed to Mount Albert, titled after then Prince Albert, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in honor of his visit to Upper Canada in 1860. Industries were primarily agricultural, with grist, flour, woolen and lumber mills placed along the Mount Albert Creek. Growth was slow in the beginning, consisting of farms and a few homes but by the mid-1800's the village included several houses, grist, flour, wool and lumber mills, a tannery, churches, schools, several shops and two hotels. The first known store was built in 1850 to supply equipments to the villagers and surrounding farmers. The main north-south road in the village, Centre Street, was fabricated along the path of an Algonquin Indian trail. Housing developments slowly expanded the original village in the mid-to-late 20th century.