Settlement began in the early 19th century as a cluster of houses on the Launceston side of the river, near a frequently-flooded ford.

Hadspen was originally on the main road from Launceston to Devonport but the town's centre was bypassed in the late 20th century.

Hadspen lies approximately 142 metres (466 ft)[2] above sea level, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) Southwest of Launceston, Tasmania.

The town is set in a rural landscape; Surrounding countryside contains valleys, river flood plains, remnant uncleared bush and undulating pastures.

A road was proposed from Launceston, crossing the river at this ford near Thomas Haydock Reibey's property of Entally.

[6] By the 1840s Hadspen was a small cluster of houses near "Reibey's ford", and the river crossing was now on the main road from Launceston.

[7] Hadspen Post Office opened on 1 November 1849,[8] though the town was not declared in the government gazette until January 1866.

Abundance of excellent stone is found within a few yards of the spot, and we observe one gentleman has built a remarkably neat cottage, fronting the main street, of this material.

[24] In 1845, local members of the Church of England, as part of a petition calling for funding, stated that they had established a new school.

[37] The Meander Valley Council, in a March 2011 development plan, forecast Hadspen's population doubling over the subsequent two decades.

Bass Highway, which connects Launceston, Burnie and Devonport, branches off from this east of the town at Travellers Rest and passes south of Hadspen.

[38] The Red Feather inn, an adjacent convict-era gaol and four cottages form a cluster of heritage buildings in the midst of the town.

Entally is set on 85 acres (34 ha) of grounds,[49] and contains a large colonial house, stables, a chapel, other outbuildings and several hectares of vineyards.

He formed a trading company in Sydney and named its building "Entally House" after a suburb of Calcutta, India.

[51] The original building was apparently a single storey structure, its two square towers arrayed with defensive musket slots.

[49] Since then the house has been restored and filled with furniture, though not to original form, but rather as a facsimile of a wealthy 19th-century colonial settler's estate.

Timber company Gunns was by 2005 looking at managing the property and planting 5–6 hectares of premium wine grapes.

[57] In late 2010 Gunns handed management and control of the property back to the State Government and from then it was maintained by volunteers.

[62] Construction, estimated to cost 1000 pounds, began with locally sourced stonework by Robert Sleightholm, whom Reibey met on a ship from England.

Reibey subsequently took libel action but his complaint was dismissed and the Jury largely held that the allegations against him were true.

[66] Around this time some in the church showed interest in completion of the old structure, partly due to the approaching centenary of construction beginning.

[60] The gathering, and associated committee, were led and chaired by William Rothwell Barrett, assistant bishop of Tasmania.

It was built by John Sprunt, also builder of Macquarie House in Launceston's civic square, using convict hewn sandstone blocks.

Due to the variability in its flow this ford was frequently impassable requiring traffic to make significant detours.

[10] On construction the toll was mandated as 1d per person, 1s per wagon or carriage, 4d per unladen beast and 1/2d per calf, sheep, pig or lamb.

[74] The toll was to run for the lesser of 30 years, or whatever time it took to pay for the original bridge construction costs plus an annual 15% interest.

[80] In March of that year floods over-topped it by approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) and five of the bridge's seven spans went down,[81] girders were broken, piers sheared through, and some swept into the river.

The town has a small shopping centre with a post office and service station, adjacent to a large caravan and cabin park.

Over 13 hectares (32 acres) of land was already zoned for development within the town boundary as of 2005, and the council plans to allow further expansion on the Highway's south.

[95] Hadspen has grown without any area set aside for small commercial operations, a fact that has led to just a single shopping complex.