Originally known as Three Mile Bush, it served as housing for workers building the road between Wellington and Masterton.

It was later renamed after Charles Carter,[3] who was in charge of the building of the Black Bridge over the Waiohine River south of the town.

[4] The town describes itself as New Zealand's daffodil capital, holding a Daffodil Festival each year on the second Sunday in September, with the main event taking place at Middle Run along Gladstone Road.

[5] Carterton was the first place in the world to elect a transgender mayor, Georgina Beyer.

[6] On 7 January 2012, a hot air balloon crashed just north of the town, killing eleven people and making headlines around the world.

The results were 91.2% European (Pākehā); 14.1% Māori; 2.3% Pasifika; 3.1% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander".

[11] Carterton's town clock is located on High Street next to the post office.

After an unfavourable engineers' assessment the bank shifted out of the building approximately 150 metres south in High Street North.

The building underwent substantial seismic strengthening and re-opened as the Carterton Free Presbyterian Church in July 2017.

Historic Carterton railway station is located west of the town centre off Belvedere Road.

It is currently leased from KiwiRail Network by the Wairarapa Railway Restoration Society.

Centrally located in the Wairarapa region, the Centre provides modern, flexible, spaces for all manner of events, shows, exhibitions, meetings and community gatherings.

The red granite pillar, apparently broken off at the top, symbolising the lives cut short by the war.

The memorial was unveiled on 13 February 1921 by Minister of Internal Affairs George Anderson.

On Sundays, from 22 February 2015, the Square began to host Carterton Farmers' Market.

[20] It was founded as a private school in 1978 and was originally sited at Ponatahi, southwest of Carterton.

The school moved to its current site over the 1996–97 summer holidays, and integrated into the state education system in April 1998.