It was established in 1839 as a farming community by James Turnbull Thomson, who built the first hotel.

The town soon grew to incorporate two once adjoining towns: Gilleston (named for Osmond Gilles) and Blythetown, named for James Blythe, another Scottish settler.

In the past it was the junction for a branch line that ran up the Onkaparinga Valley and beyond to Birdwood and Mount Pleasant.

One of the larger businesses in the town is a long-established hardware store, now part of the Mitre 10 chain.

Peramangk and Kaurna peoples are the Traditional Custodians of the Adelaide Hills.