The initial name of the town and municipality was Apatzeo, first used by Hernán Pérez de Bocanegra y Córdoba, who was apparently influenced by the expression in the Purépecha language meaning "place of weasels".

Other names of the city of Apaseo el Grande were Andehe (in the Otomi language) which appears in an inscription that is in the choir of the parish church and means "by the water".

This area became eastern Bajío, the name by which Spaniards, Creoles, Mestizos, Indians, blacks and mulattos called the property belonging to the principal landowner of the region.

In 1547, silver deposits discovered in Zacatecas resulted in a steady stream of migration to the region, seen by the semi-nomadic Chichimecas as intrusions on their ancestral lands.

Underpaid Spanish soldiers raided native villages to acquire slaves for the mines, and the Chichimicas made attacks against herders and traders on the border.

Wool supplies fueled wholesale and retail markets in Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Mexico City and the Bajío zone through the Camino Real (Royal Road).

The indigenous people of Apaseo started to build a temple on the Camino Real, which was completed c.1824 and was dedicated to the Divina Pastora, better known today as the Pastorcita.

During mid-November, 7,000 men under command of Don Felix Maria Calleja stayed overnight in Apaseo, while preparing to engage Allende's rebels.

Agustin de Iturbide began a relentless war against the insurgents in Bajio, working with Apaseo Parish Priest Don Manuel María Rodeles and families of the village.

The eventual Liberal victory meant full implementation of the 1857 Constitution and the reform laws, mainly the Confiscation (Disentailment) Act, which affected the church and community assets.

The resistance crumbled to Franco-Mexican forces and on November 29, 1863, Apaseo and Celaya signed the accession instrument to the Second Mexican Empire in the presence of Mejía.

During the 35-year regime of Porfirio Díaz, peace allowed for the creation of much-delayed public works in Apaseo, particularly in the current Plaza Hidalgo, that was the court of the first parish church and cemetery.

The proximity to Querétaro and Celaya prompted Apaseo to become a metropolis of an agricultural area, where activities take place outside the village, at the haciendas and ranches.

Little local data exists on these years, but it can be inferred that Don Vicente A. Ruiz won the mayoral elections at the triumph of the Revolution Maderista, and continued his post as Political Chief until the Battle of Celaya.

Ruiz managed to take several progressive measures, notably the introducing electricity, drilling for a water supply and organizing civil defenses.

General Cesareo Castro's cavalry emerged from the forests of the La Labor Hacienda, and played a decisive role in the victory over Villa's army.

In 1917, the entrance of the United States in World War I, caused the price of garlic to rise rapidly, increasing the revenue of Apaseo and bringing considerable profits to speculators.

The administration of President Plutarco Elías Calles felt its revolutionary initiatives were challenged by the Catholic Church, and instituted anti-clerical laws leading to the Cristero War (1926–1929).

On April 1, 1927, Frías unexpectedly surrounded the Plaza Hidalgo with his troops and arrested City Treasurer Ranulfo Molina, forcing him to deliver the public funds.

When diplomacy brought an agreement between the bishops and the Mexican government, the conflict effectively ended, and church bells were rung for the first time in almost three years.

In 1957, an earthquake occurred that closely marked the start of a slow and gradual drying of the spring El Nacimiento, bringing an end to cheap water and large-density irrigation in the municipality.

The Federal Deputy of District XIV is José Luis Oliveros Usabiaga and the local representative is Martin Lopez Camacho, both of the PAN.

The waters of Cañada Mandujano Cedazo and Ojos de Apaseo el Alto, gathered into streams, are used to irrigate the valley lands.

The reported species in the area have endured heavy pressure from urbanization, and include the opossum, coyote, hare, rabbit, and birds like the thrush.

An increase in population in the coming years is expected due to the construction of housing projects in the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Querétaro, within the municipality of Apaseo el Grande.

6.5% of the population 25 years and older have higher education (technical or commercial studies, completed high school, undergraduate, masters and/or PhD).

Apaseenses' emigration to the United States is primarily to cities in Texas, especially Dallas, possibly because of family ties[citation needed] and support to aid with employment prospects.

[4] The Palace of Herrera (commonly called "Casa de los Perros" or the House of Dogs) is a prominent eighteenth-century colonial building.

Constructed in a sober baroque style, this palace was commissioned by Don Francisco Fernández de Herrera y Antonio Merino Areávalo, landowner and merchant.

Fernández de Herrera owned several farms and ranches, some of which remained in the family for generations, as was the case for the Hacienda El Tunal.