The station was opened in 1909 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on a branch line which had connected Romford with Upminster and Grays since 1893.

The Romford–Upminster line was constructed in 1893 as a branch of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR).

The LTSR was prompted to open a station at Emerson Park because of property development in the immediate area and in 1908 the Great Eastern Railway (GER) proposed a new railway station at Gidea Park, approximately 1 mile to the northwest on the line from Liverpool Street.

A run-round loop was constructed 500 yards to the west to enable extra trains to run between Emerson Park and Upminster.

[9] The station became part of the London & South Eastern sector in 1982 that became Network SouthEast in 1986.

The London Overground service through the station was rebranded as the Liberty line from November 2024.

[13] The station consists of a side platform located to the north of the single track.

The station is of basic design and has no buildings other than a canopy covering part of the platform.

The Havering Council local register of historic interest describes the building as "Canopy over single platform.

Simple iron ‘H’ posts holding up a steel frame, with corrugated sheeting forming a curved roof.