In 1536, on the orders of Queen Bona Sforza, Jerzy Zielepucha founded the town of Kuźnica, which in 1546 received Magdeburg rights.

Despite its favorable location on a navigable river and (since 1862) near the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw railway, the town did not develop into a larger city.

During the Nazi occupation, in the summer of 1941, the Germans created a ghetto for Jewish residents.

There is a passenger service to Białystok, but not anymore to Belarus (Bruzgi), although cross-border rail tracks exist.

Both highway and railway going into Belarus connect Kuźnica with Grodno 25 km away.