Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a military outpost established by Leander Starr Jameson.

Matabele settlement was named iKwelo ("The Steep Place"), after the river's high banks.

The modern town, founded in 1894 as a military outpost, developed as an agricultural centre and became a municipality in 1914.

There is: Situated along the road and railway between Harare and Bulawayo and near the rail spur to Maputo, Mozambique, Gweru has become a busy trade centre with modest industrial development.

The surrounding area, with its rich deposits of gold, chrome, iron, asbestos, and limestone, supports a number of mines.

[2] The Nalatale and Danamombe archaeological sites lie approximately 70 and 85 km to the southwest, the known for their patterned stonework.

The remains at these sites date back to as early as the Torwa state during the 17th century, the most substantial being a four hundred-year-old stone wall decorated with motifs known to the tradition of stone-building in Zimbabwe.

The surrounding area has rich deposits of gold, chrome, iron, asbestos and platinum and supports several mines.

National Railways of Zimbabwe have the country's largest marshalling yard, Dabuka, on the south side of Gweru.