The history of Maple can be traced to its founding families: the Noble family and Rupert family. The Nobles settled around the present Major Mackenzie Drive and Keele Street intersection in the early half of the 19th century. In 1852 the Town was called Noble’s Corner after Joseph Noble, the first Postmaster. Later, a Doctor Rupert lived in Maple and was such a respected member of the community that the Village’s name was changed to Rupertsville. Local folklore associates the name "Maple" with the numerous Maple trees once found along Keele Street in the Village.

Maple was dominated for most of the 19th century by the more prosperous villages of Sherwood and Teston. Keele Street was then a boggy swamp area that forced most travelers to take alternate routes. Once the Ontario, Huron, and Simcoe Railway built a line through Maple, the village began to grow. The station was then called Richmond Hill. The Canadian National Railway bought the line in early 1900 and the station was renamed Maple.

By the late 19th century, local businesses in Maple included a sawmill, a rope factory, a funeral parlour, a hotel, a hardware store, a pump factory and a harness shop. In 1904 there were approximately 100 homes in Maple, most of which were occupied by retired farmers or those who owned a business in the community. In 1907 the Sterling Bank was established in Maple, catering to the needs of the community.

The first church in Maple was St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, established in 1832. The church was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1979. Methodist meetings were held in Maple from 1833, however, a church was not built until 1870. Today the Church is known as the Maple United Church. A third church, St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, was organized in 1835. The church building was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1985.

The first settlers in Maple during the latter part of the 18th century were German Lutherans from Pennsylvania. By 1825, a large influx of British immigrants began joining the German Lutherans already established in the community.

In 1928 Maple, with a population of 2000, became a Police Village, a self regulating and financing body. Tom Cousins, Hiram Keffer, and Guy Laurie were the first trustees of the Police Village.

Some of the more significant people and sites in Maple include the Masonic Lodge, one of the oldest in Upper Canada, founded in 1854, and the Maple Women’s Institute, which was reputedly the third one in the world when it was established in 1897. The most famous native of Maple was William Maxwell Aitken, also known as Lord Beaverbrook. A publisher, and newspaper magnate, Lord Beaverbrook served on the British Cabinet and was Britain’s Minister of Aircraft Production during the Second World War.

Another noted Native of Maple was Dr. Fredrick William Routley who practiced medicine in Maple from 1909 to 1912. Routley was, for 27 years, the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Red Cross. In 1923 he developed the Blue Cross Plan which was put into effect in Ontario in 1941. Dr. Routley also helped establish the Ontario Hospital Association in 1923.

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