Holden was settled in 1855 by a group of ten families sent out by the bishop of the local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fillmore.

[5][6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square mile (1.4 km2), all land.

Before the freeway, I-15, bypassed the town, there were five gas stations, a grocery store, a cafe, a swimming pool, an open-air dance hall, and a show house.

Now there is a dental office with two dentists, a UPS transfer station where packages are delivered throughout Millard County, a nursery that grows native plants, three beauticians, a cabinet shop, a realty business, and several home businesses featuring craft items.

Most of the farms are located outside of the city limits, but they are owned and operated by farmers and ranchers that live in Holden.

Primary employers in the area are Intermountain Community Hospital, Intermountain Power Project (IPP), Brush Wellman, Sunrise Engineering, the Great Lake Cheese Company of Utah, Mountain View Mushrooms, and the Kern River Gas Transmission.