The town was chartered on November 23, 1769, by Cadwallader Colden, Royal Lieutenant Governor of New York.

In 1848, the Vermont Central Railroad opened to South Royalton, which developed as a freight depot.

During the Revolutionary War Royalton was visited by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Although Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, was born in the adjacent town of Sharon near the Royalton boundary, the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial lies in the town.

[4] In June 1974, the now-defunct Royalton College hosted the Institute for Humane Studies' Conference on Austrian Economics.

The edited version of the conference proceedings appears in Professor Dolan's The Foundations of Modern Austrian Economics.

[5][6] A landscape photo of Royalton stands in as the fictional town of Stars Hollow in the opening credits of Gilmore Girls.

[7] The town is located on the east side of the Green Mountains, and the White River cuts through its center.

It is bordered by the town of Bethel to the northwest, Randolph to the north, Tunbridge to the northeast, Strafford to the east, Sharon to the southeast, Pomfret to the south, and Barnard to the southwest.