Although legally incorporated as Krupp, the town is more commonly known as Marlin, which is the name of its post office.

First settled in 1871 by Henry Marlin, the townsite was originally a cattle ranch that was later surrounded by wheat farms.

[6][7] The Great Northern Railway was built through the area in 1892 and placed a station, which was named Krupp—allegedly for a local German family.

[7] Its plat was filed in 1902 by George Urquhart, a Scottish immigrant who bought land rights and cattle from Marlin.

[7] A post office was established in 1918 under the name of "Marlin", following a request from local residents to avoid using Krupp amid anti-German sentiment during World War I.

[9][10] In the summer of 1971 a three-day rock festival, "Sunrise '71," was scheduled to take place immediately south of town, but was shut down by county authorities.

[11] Krupp/Marlin lost its lone school in 1970 and would eventually lack a filling station, grocery store, or restaurant.

[14] Krupp is located along Crab Creek in eastern Grant County, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Moses Lake.

[12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.58 square miles (1.50 km2), all of it land.