[2][3] Europeans were first attracted to the area, known as the Big Scrub, in the 1840s by the plentiful supply of red cedar.

Some notable selections in the first five years include that of the Freeborn, Roberston, Graham, Newborn, Crawford, Mellis, and Newton families.

[4] Sugar cane was an important industry to the early settlers, with many small mills operating across the district.

By 1896 the Rous mill boasted a light rail line to transport cane from Alstonville.

Due to lack of refrigeration, cream, not milk, was the product of interest, which was transported to local factories to be made into butter.

[5] In 1900[4] the NSW Creamery Butter Company built the Alstonville factory near Maguires Creek, which was sometime later acquired by the Norco Co-operative.

The name was given by the cedar cutters because of the abundance of wild duck on the upper tidal reaches of the creek.

[5] In 1873, due to conflict of the original name with a different duck creek the first postmaster and owner of the general store John Perry proposed the name "Alstonville".

An industrial estate is located in Russleton Park, with cement, macadamia processing and rural supplies dominating.

Andesanthus lepidotus 'Alstonville' is a small tree grown in many parts of Australia for its brilliant display of purple flowers in autumn.

The world's first commercial orchard of macadamia trees was planted in the early 1880s by Charles Staff at Rous Mill, on the Alstonville plateau, 7 km south west of the centre of town.