The first known inhabitants of this region were hunter-gatherers and it was later occupied by pastoralists, shepherds living in caves or simple huts.

It later came under the control of a Gaulish tribe called Vellavi and at the time of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars, this area lay on the border of Gallia Narbonensis.

The area became a Roman province in 121 BC,[4] originally under the name Gallia Transalpina (Transalpine Gaul).

[7] Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, by order of the National Constituent Assembly.

During the Second World War, French partisans aided by Allied supply drops and leaders were able to liberate the province from Germans.

The river Loire rises in the southern part of the department and flows northwards, creating a wide valley.

He was a Jesuit missionary and explorer in North America who is said to have converted ten thousand Native Americans.

[19] The de Polignac family has its historic seat in the department, and various descendants of General Lafayette were senators for this region in the nineteenth century.

[7] Le Puy-en-Velay has a historic cathedral at which pilgrims gather before starting their journey to Santiago de Compostela.

The cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, as part of the "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".

Another site of pilgrimage is at Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe, a twelfth century chapel on top of a rocky pinnacle approached by a flight of 268 steps.