The town centre was initially founded as a small farm community in 1870 for its fertile land and temperate climate.

[6] Cloverdale was the City of Surrey's first town centre, officially established in 1879 near Five Corners, the historic intersection of 60 Avenue and Old McClellan Road.

Linking Bellingham, Washington to New Westminster was the subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway forged in the valley in 1891 and created a station named Cloverdale.

[5] In the 1920s and 1930s, Cloverdale was a common destination for Americans in Washington State seeking for alcohol to address the Prohibition laws.

[9] Cloverdale is best known[citation needed] outside its immediate vicinity as the primary "main street" and "downtown" sets for the television show Smallville.

A portion of 176th Street was shut down to accommodate a riot scene and a motorcycle stunt involving jumping over fifteen school buses was filmed at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.

The yearly Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair, on the Victoria Day long weekend, attracts visitors from around western North America.