[2] Shell middens dating back to the fourth millennium BCE have been found at Kalba, as well as extensive remains of the Bronze Age Umm Al Nar culture.

Said bin Hamad lived in Ajman, leaving the administration of Kalba in the hands of a slave named Barut.

[9] By the 1920s, Said bin Hamad took up residency in Kalba again and in 1936 was recognised by the British as a Trucial Ruler as an incentive to grant landing rights to an emergency air-strip as a backup to the Imperial Airways runway and fort at Al-Mahatta in the city of Sharjah.

[13] Although there are British records of an insurgency in 1952 this appears to have been settled[14][15] and the rule of Kalba subsequently reverted to the direct administration of Sharjah.

That notwithstanding, there were almost constant outbreaks of squabbling and disputes between Kalba and neighbouring Fujairah (itself only recognised as a Trucial State by the British in 1952) which broke out into open fighting over a land dispute after the UAE was founded in 1971 and, in 1972 the newly founded Union Defence Force was called in to take control of the fighting which, by the time the UDF moved in, had killed 22 and seriously injured a dozen more.

The dispute was finally settled after mediation between Sheikh Rashid of Dubai and other Rulers and a statement announcing the settlement sent out on 17 July 1972.

[19] Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah and member of the Supreme Council, announced in July 2020 that several development projects are to be implemented in Kalba.

[20][21] These include the restoration of historical sites, the development of the corniche, the renovation of public spaces, the construction of new buildings, and others.

[22][20] Launched in April 2021, the Kalba Beach Corniche project targeted improving rainwater drainage, the construction of a running track, the establishment of public seating areas and planting of trees.

The Kalba ice factory, originally constructed to provide ice for local fishermen, stood as a ruin for decades before it was rebuilt as an art space by the Sharjah Art Foundation - one of a number of restorations of heritage buildings in the Emirate of Sharjah by the Foundation (including the Flying Saucer) for use as public spaces.

[25] It is located in the southern outskirts of Kalba, an ancient city on Sharjah’s eastern coastline and was built in 1970s.Its used as a storage place for the ice that would transport freshly caught fish to Dubai, 120km away.