The town was granted its own charter in 1749 by colonial governor Benning Wentworth, and in 1768 his nephew, Governor John Wentworth, named it in honor of New Hampshire's founder, Captain John Mason, who along with Sir Ferdinando Gorges had been granted the territory in 1622 by the Council of New England.

[3] Near the center of Mason is the boyhood home of Samuel Wilson, the meat supplier who is believed to have inspired the Uncle Sam character.

Another prominent local figure was Elizabeth Orton Jones, an author, illustrator and teacher better known as "Twig".

Jones is noted for her recording of town history and her dedication to Andy's Summer Playhouse, a renowned youth theater founded in Mason.

[citation needed] Pickity Place, a local cottage built in 1759 by Ebenezer Blood, was the model for the grandmother's house in Jones' 1948 illustrated version of "Little Red Riding Hood".

The town's highest point is 1,100 feet (340 m) above sea level, on an unnamed summit near the border with Greenville.

Mason is immediately north of the Massachusetts border, with the center of town about 3 miles (5 km) from the state line.

The students at the public middle and high school are tuitioned to Milford, which is northeast of Mason.