The village lies on and extends over the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, the Belgian part being Putte, Kapellen.

During World War I, the border was sealed off and the Wire of Death was constructed to prevent refugees from entering the Netherlands.

Putte is the burial place of the 17th century Antwerp painter Jacob Jordaens who, as a Protestant, could not be buried in his Roman Catholic hometown.

The noted artist Marguerite Wildenhain, who was forced to leave her teaching post in Germany because of her Jewish ancestry, came to Putte in 1933.

She and her husband Franz established in the town a pottery shop called Het Kruikje (Little Jug) - which existed until the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, when Wildenhain was able to find refuge in the US.