Formerly located around the junction of Mandai Road and Sembawang Road, Nee Soon Village was where the name for Yishun New Town came from. Between the early 1900s to the 1970s, this village was one of the two main commercial centres in this part of Singapore, the other being Chong Pang Village further up north.
Nee Soon Village was named in 1930 after Lim Nee Soon, who brought about significant development to this area in the early 19th century. Lim Nee Soon owned large tracts of rubber and pineapple plantations here, and his rubber-processing factory, Thong Aik Rubber Factory, was established in the village in 1912. As migrants came to work on the plantations and settled down, a number of villages were formed. Nee Soon Village, with its services and amenities, including a cinema, was the centre for these villages.
Over the years, Nee Soon Village continued developing. Services such as a market, clinics, motor-car workshops and laundry shops were set up. The establishment of the Naval Base in the 1920s also spurred growth as British military personnel and their families patronised businesses here. Nee Soon Village lasted till the early 1980s, when it was cleared to make way for development.