Originally part of the rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, the area developed into orchards during the Colonial era of New Zealand.

The Glen Eden railway station opened in 1880, linking the area to central Auckland along the Western Line, and leading to the development of the Waikumete Cemetery.

Sheltered from the Tasman Sea by the Waitākere Ranges, the area was traditionally dominated by forests of kauri, Phyllocladus trichomanoides (tānekaha or celery pine) and rimu, with abundant nīkau palm and silver fern.

[4] The area is within the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, an iwi that traces their ancestry to some of the earliest inhabitants of the Auckland Region.

[7][8] Te Kawerau ā Maki had a kāinga near modern Holdens Road in Oratia, close to Glen Eden.

[5] After the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, paramount chief Apihai Te Kawau of the iwi now known as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei made a tuku (strategic gift) of land at Waihorotiu on the Waitematā Harbour, which developed into the modern city of Auckland.

[9] By this time, modern Glen Eden was known as Waikomiti or Waikumete, literally meaning "Water of the Wooden Bowl", referring to a type of snare used to catch kererū.

[10] Waikūmete is a traditional Te Kawerau ā Maki name for Little Muddy Creek in south Titirangi on the Manukau Harbour,[6] that was applied to the greater area during the time of European settlement.

[15] Early settlers such as John Bishop and Thomas Canty felled bush in the Oratia and Glen Eden areas from the mid-1840s.

[20][17] The Western Line opened in March 1880, connecting Waikumete to Auckland by rail and encouraging growth in the area.

[24] Social life of the area revolved around the town hall, which showed movies, held dances and political meetings.

[26] While local residents were mostly unscathed, people who died in Auckland were transported en masse to Waikumete Cemetery.

[24] The town hall remained a community social hub, holding events, movie showings and theatre productions.

[24][34] The borough status of Glen Eden brought prosperity, and allowed the local council to borrow funds to develop the area.

[51] After World War II, a movement within the community began to separate the township of Waikumete from the surrounding Waitemata County, due to the perception that local government needed to increase rates to improve the area's roading.

[28] The town board was composed of between 7 and 8 commissioners, of whom five served as chairman between 1922 and 1941: J Trefaskis, W H Shepherd, W E Martin, A J Routley and J H Harding.

[51] In 1953, the town became the Glen Eden Borough,[24] which allowed the council more autonomy, and granted them the ability to borrow money for local developments.

On 1 November 2010, the Auckland Council was formed as a unitary authority governing the entire Auckland Region,[53] with Glen Eden becoming a part of the Waitākere Ranges local board area, administered by the Waitākere Ranges Local Board.

Glen Eden is represented on the Auckland Council by Waitākere ward councillors Ken Turner and Shane Henderson.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi, a composite Māori-language immersion school (years 1–13) with a roll of 239.

[34] It is a school for years 7–8 with a roll of 1,006 students,[60] and located to the south of Glen Eden, in the modern suburb of Kaurilands.