[1] Salalant at this time was a shire (gouw) made up of the area between Wijhe, Mastenbroek, and Dalfsen, in other words, the region circling Zwolle.

In 814, mention is made of a Salahom, located where the IJssel empties into the Sallzee, and of its acquisition by the Lorsch Abbey (near Worms).

In 1086, the four parts of Oversticht (i.e., Salland, Twente, Vollenhove, and Drenthe) belonged first to Egbert III, descendant of Wracharius, and count of Salland, Westergo, and Estergo, but were confiscated by Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, given to the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, and incorporated into the margravate of Islegowe.

In 1046 Deventer and its vicinity belonged to the county of Hamaland but was incorporated along with the area between Dalfsen and Gramsbergen into Salland in 1246.

In time they were demoted to bailiwicks (drostambten), and even though they were superseded by the sheriffdoms of IJsselmuiden, Diepenheim, Haaksbergen, and the sheriff of Hasselt was made high sheriff, the original three bailiwicks have nonetheless served as the basis for Oversticht's three-way division to this day.

In the northwest, reclaimed boglands used for peat digging have resulted in low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding, pre-1932 (in that year, the Zuiderzee was closed off from the North Sea to become the IJsselmeer lake).

Industrial and commercial ties with Twente and its location east of the Sallandse Heuvelrug hill ridge caused the municipality of Hellendoorn to switch association earlier in the twentieth century.