In the late thirteenth century, it was in the possession of Sir Walter de la Haye, a leading figure in the Irish Government from about 1270 to 1308.

Kilmeaden, lying in a linear pattern along the R680 (former N25 national primary road section), was previously home to a train station on the line from Waterford City to Mallow Junction in County Cork.

In 2003 a section of the line was reopened as a narrow gauge attraction, known as the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway.

The farmers of the area sold their produce (mostly butter and milk) to the co-op, and as it expanded, a general store was opened in May 1920, which is still present today as a Centra outlet.

In addition, there are an 18th-century house (the ancestral home of the Congreve family), a number of glasshouses, more than 16 miles of paths and a wholesale nursery.

[citation needed] Kilmeaden is home to Greenway Equestrian, a therapeutic riding and equine therapy centre located on the banks of the River Dawn at Cullenagh Stables.

The sensory trails, which intersect Waterford Greenway, follow woodland and riverside paths, flanked by sites such as the old mill and chimney at Fairbook, the Queen Ann Way - a stopping point on the former Waterford, Dungarvan and Lismore Railway Line, the spa well at Gortnaclode and the remains of the Mill Street houses.

Seven acres of a former woollen mill have been changed into a walled garden by the Dutch artists Wout Muller and Clary Mastenbroek.