The city was named for Civil War general William Passmore Carlin.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.0 square kilometres (10.4 sq mi), all of it land.

21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

On August 12, 1939, the City of San Francisco train derailed while crossing a bridge near Carlin, killing 24 and injuring 121.

The wreck appeared to have been caused by sabotage but remains unsolved to this day.

Carlin was the home of the Native American medicine man John "Rolling Thunder" Pope (1916–1997), who had worked as a brakeman on the railway.