Le Puy is located on the Roman road, the Bolène Way, linking Lyon (Lugdunum) to Bordeaux (Burdigala), which was constructed during the reign of the emperor Augustus, by his son-in-law Agrippa.

Guy II de Forez, the feudal lord of Saint-Romain-le-Puy, was the vassal of Louis VII.

In 1218, Count Guy IV de Forez, gave the priory (founded in 1007) into the care of the religious of Saint-Thomas-les-Nonnains.

In 1431, the town was pillaged by routiers under Rodrigo de Villandrando on orders from the Crown as part of the quashing of a jacquerie.

Local industries include Mineral Waters (François Parot, a public works entrepreneur sunk a well in 1858) and Glassmaking (Saint-Gobain-Emballage factory founded in 1893).