[4] The name of Haapaniemi refers to its location on a peninsula (Finnish: niemi) surrounded by the lake Päijänne.

[2] The register village of Haapaniemi also included central Vaajakoski in the north as well as the island of Vuoritsalo in the south.

[4] During the Middle Ages, the territories of modern Haapaniemi and nearby Oravasaari[6] were hunting grounds of Hauho.

The farm of Haapaniemi was established around 1564 as a leased estate (Finnish: lampuotitila) for Heikki Matinpoika, who paid taxes to the vicarage of Jämsä.

Laukaa became a separate parish in 1628[9] and the transfer of Jyväskylä and other nearby villages started and was finalized in 1646.

[12] The chapel community of Jyväskylä, including Haapaniemi, became a separate parish in 1856[13][14] and Jyväskylän maalaiskunta was established in 1868.

[18] Haapaniemi still remained rural until the 1960s, as the municipality had acquired land from the Pellonpää farm in 1964 in order to construct a suburban area.