The town was formed around 1600 by the Ewe[2] people, after they were displaced westward by the expansion of the Yoruba.

[1] Founded by tribes from the Nile Valley[dubious – discuss] and after a transition through Oyo (Nigeria), Ketou (Benin), Adja Tado (Togo) ,Dogbo and Notse.

[citation needed]To protect his people from enemies and slave raiders, the chief built an imposing mud wall called "Agbogbo" 14,5 km whose remains are still visible in places.

In the seventeenth century, following an internal crisis as a result of oppressive rule by Togbe Agorkoli I (Agor Akorli), the Ewe revolted and fled south , east and west to neighboring Ghana (now Volta Region) and Benin.

The name Notse is a distortion of the word ''NOIN'' the leader of the group OUPE, who says "we stay here" in the Ewe dialect.