Tempo was originally a village in the former Westminster Township. The village of Tempo was destroyed in the 1950's when Highway 401 (Macdonald-Cartier Freeway) was built. This action (the construction of Highway 401) explains why Tempo Road is now built with curves and does not line up where the former village of Tempo shows on some maps.
All of Westminster Township disappeared when it was annexed by the City of London and North Dorchester Township which is now the Municipality of Thames Centre.
At one time Tempo had a post office until it closed in 1913. There was one church, called Tempo Presbyterian Church, which opened in the mid-19th century (c: 1866) and closed down in the first decade of the 21st century. The church still stands and is now owned by a nearby hotel/conference centre with the church having been renovated and now used primarily for weddings and other suitable functions.
Many of the road names in the area are named after the landowners in the area including the Orr, Thomas, Burtwistle, Wilson and Shore families who all owned properties, along with others dating back to the 1800s.
Historical maps of the period show who owned the parcels of land at that time, as well as a location of the Tempo Post Office and a toll gate located one concession north of the Elgin/Middlesex County line on what later became Highway 4.