According to legend, a trader named Chand Saudagar used to bring a fleet of 14 dinghies to trade in this area.

After giving this curse, Chand Saudagar no longer came to trade in this area and eventually the river dried up and human settlements began to form.

There is a famous local saying among the locals of Gangachara:[6]: 15 যদি উঠে মংলার ঢেউ, কান্দিয়া উঠে চাঁদ সওদাগরের বউjôdi uṭhe mônglar ḍheu, kandiya uṭhe chand saodagôrer bouIf the waves of the river rise, Chand Saudagar's wife begins to cryGangachara is located at 25°51′00″N 89°13′00″E / 25.8500°N 89.2167°E / 25.8500; 89.2167.

The area is highly prone to river erosions, which has played a part in the loss of many historical architecture.

[5] Like much of the Rangpur region, Gangachara has a strong Mughal heritage and this attested by its historic mosques in Coleconda, Barabil and Mandrain.

The area was also home to Rangpur's only major zamindar family, whose presence dates back to the eleventh century.

The family maintained respective authority and feudal aristocracy in Gangachara for several centuries, with Arif Muhammad Choudhury becoming the military commander-in-chief for the Cooch Behar State.

[3] In 1917, the British Raj established a thana (police outpost administrative headquarters) in Gangachara.

[3] During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a Pakistan Army soldier is noted to have chased a young girl and her father in Gangachara in the middle of August until they were forced to jump in the river, where they subsequently died by drowning.

Two months later, two soldiers along with five Razakars died whilst fighting members of the Mujib Bahini.

[3] Gangachara Thana was upgraded to an upazila (sub-district) in January 1984 as part of the President of Bangladesh Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralisation programme.

Gangachara had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 43.17%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 982 females per 1000 males.