 Originally called Cooper's Mills (c. 1806) after William Cooper's Grist and Saw Mill, it was renamed in 1838 in honour of John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (High Commissioner and Governor General of British North America, who visited to the area.Besides the mills, Lambton Mills had its own church, school, and post office.The only remnant of Lambton Mills is the Lambton House on Old Dundas Street West, open part-time as a museum.