[9] It traces its history to 1492, when a patrol station was set up to protect the trade route heading from Moscow northward.

[3] In 1780, it became the seat of Kadnikovsky Uyezd of Vologda Viceroyalty (since 1796—Vologda Governorate) [citation needed] and was granted town status.

[10] One of the principal highways in Russia, M8, which connects Moscow and Arkhangelsk, crosses Sokolsky District running through the center of Kadnikov.

Several kilometers northwest from Kadnikov, in Chekshino, another highway branches off east and runs to Totma and Veliky Ustyug.

A historical interest attaches to Ilyinsky pogost, comprising a 17th-century five-domed church, a belfry, and a fenced burial ground.