Prior to settlement, a Native American tribe called the "Oswegatchie" inhabited the local area.

The settlement that became Heuvelton was originally named "Fordsburgh" after Nathan Ford, the man who has since become known as the "Father of St. Lawrence County".

The current name was assumed in 1832 to honor Jacob Van den Heuvel, an immigrant from The Netherlands, who invested in several extensive improvements including mill construction, marking the first notable economic growth in the early community.

Heuvelton encourages tourism, and is a location to purchase locally made goods.

[citation needed] Pickens Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

The three-story stone structure, built-in 1858 by John Pickens, had a former music hall on the third floor where the builder's twin granddaughters (Bessie and Jessie Pickens) once performed as opera singers under the stage name "The Abbot Sisters".

A one-megawatt hydroelectric dam owned by Erie Boulevard Hydropower is located in Heuvelton.