The area surrounding the village was settled in prehistoric times and emerged as part of a feudal society with the parish divided between separate estates for much of its history.

The parish church was mentioned in a papal bull of 1225 showing its appropriation to Paisley Abbey, and it sits on the site of an ancient religious community dating to the 5th or 6th centuries.

Again in the 13th century, Duchal Castle was constructed in the parish and is notable for being besieged by King James IV of Scotland in 1489, following the resident Lyle family's support of an insurrection against him.

Feuding between the noble families of Kilmacolm was commonplace in the Middle Ages, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, the parish again came to the attention of the Crown for providing support to outlawed religious Covenanters.

The economy of the village reflected this population change, moving away from its traditional reliance on agriculture to providing tertiary sector services to residents and visitors.

[8] The early human settlement of Kilmacolm can be traced as far back as the Stone Age, with a number of archaeological discoveries made within the village dating from that period.

[16] These records include an early papal bull of Pope Honorius III[17] in 1225 and generally demonstrate the subservience of the church at Kilmacolm and the surrounding villages of Strathgryfe to Paisley Abbey.

The King attended personally and, according to accounts, the inhabitants of the Castle surrendered immediately on the sight of the famous Mons Meg cannon being rolled into position against them.

The arrival of the railway in Kilmacolm in 1869 marked a significant turning point in the village's history and lead to Victorian era expansion on a grand scale.

[26] Kilmacolm's rail connection came about as a result of railway companies entering into the shipping trade and the perceived need to link Glasgow directly to Greenock's waterfront.

[27] Kilmacolm expanded at an unprecedented speed and many of the large Victorian and Edwardian villas which characterise the village today were constructed, as well as such attractions as the Hydropathic Hotel[28][29] and facilities such as banks and plumbed water.

[31] Kilmacolm gradually became a place with numerous amenities, with the construction of the Victorian schoolhouses of the village, the opening of a Royal Bank of Scotland branch in 1872 and piped clean water in 1878.

From the introduction of proportional representation in local council elections in Scotland in 2007 until 2017, Kilmacolm was joined with Port Glasgow to create a four-member ward known as Inverclyde East.

Turnout fell to 43.9%, down from 65.3% in the 1999 election, and turned Kilmacolm into a Conservative-Liberal Democrat marginal area, with the Conservatives' (represented by the former councillor's wife, Helen Calvert) lead being slashed 29% to 6% over the Lib Dems who rose from fourth to second place in the poll.

In 2003, Liberal Democrat Tom Fyfe was elected by a narrow margin in Kilmacolm, also marking the return of control of Inverclyde Council from Labour to the Lib Dems.

The laying of a railway line through Kilmacolm occurred in order to provide a direct boat train link between Glasgow's St Enoch station and the harbour at Princes Pier in Greenock.

The clean air of the parish was hailed as having great health benefits, attracting both visitors and new residents who constructed significant residential properties in the village.

[64] Recent redevelopment has modified the park's pavilion to contain a fitness gymnasium, a café and changing facilities as well as including a new children's playpark.

[75] The field beside the Knapps Loch is used for community events such as the Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Society's annual show and the Bonfire Night celebrations.

Kilmacolm is depicted as 'Kilellan' in R.J. Price's Renfrewshire short stories A Boy in Summer (2002) and features briefly in Raymond Friel's poetry collection Stations of the Heart (2009).

[79] In entertainment and the arts, musicians Jim Kerr of Simple Minds and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders were residents of Kilmacolm,[80] as was Gerry Rafferty in the 1970s.

[83] In sports, Rachael Ferrier, who competed in the 2014 Winter Paralympics at Sochi as a sighted guide for visually impaired athlete Millie Knight also resides in Kilmacolm.

[87][89][90] Other notable non-residential listed buildings in the parish include Bridge of Weir Hospital built by William Quarrier, as a sanatorium for tuberculosis sufferers at the turn of the 20th century, in the free revivalist style and incorporating ecclesiastical references.

[92] Of historical interest are preserved examples of significant anti-aircraft batteries dating back to the Second World War contained within the parish, and a Decontamination Centre built in case of gas attacks on the United Kingdom.

[100] Auchenbothie House was donated by former owner Sir James Lithgow to the town council of nearby Port Glasgow in 1949 to be used as a home for the elderly; it later lay vacant before being converted into residential flats.

[105] In addition to his work on buildings in the village, there is also a gravestone in the parish churchyard designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh dated 1892 and erected to the memory of one James Reid.

The railway played a significant role in the village's modern history and expansion, linking it conveniently to nearby urban centres such as Glasgow, Greenock and Paisley.

In 1868 the Church of St James was constructed on the site which now houses the Royal Bank of Scotland branch and lends its name to the town's main shopping terrace.

The St Fillan to which it, and Kilmacolm's Episcopal Church, is dedicated is suggested by the Gazetteer for Scotland as most likely being "Faelan of Cluain Moescna" from Meath in Ireland.

[126] For judicial purposes, the area forms part of the sheriffdom of North Strathclyde and public prosecutions are directed by the Procurator Fiscal for Argyll and Clyde.