The town was founded as Heatherwood, but the name was changed around 1911 in honour of Edson Joseph Chamberlin, vice-president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

The former hamlets of Glenwood and Grande Prairie Trail were annexed from Yellowhead County by the Town of Edson on 1 January 1984.

[15] Edson lies in the McLeod River valley, immediately east of the Canadian Rockies foothills.

The main industries that drive the local economy are resource based – coal, oil, natural gas and forestry products.

The park, run by the Town of Edson, also contains an event pavilion, a Canadian National Railway caboose, a preserved RCAF Lockheed T-33 Silver Star aircraft, and giant squirrel statue that depicts the town's mascot, "Eddie the Squirrel".

Via Rail's The Canadian calls at the Edson railway station twice per week in each direction as a flag stop.

[28] On 15 October 2019, the town was granted a coat of arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, while the announcement of the Letters Patent was made on 28 March 2020, in Volume 154, page 692 of the Canada Gazette.