[3] Prehistoric traces of a settlement in the area include Mesolithic and Bronze Age artifacts, along with Hallstatt and La Tene grave mounds.

The Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) family of Schüpfen ruled the village for the Zähringens and Kyburgs from 1208 until 1405.

[3] The village church was first mentioned in 1268 and was rebuilt in 1741-42, though the new building retained the medieval bell tower.

[3] The local economy has traditionally relied heavily on agriculture, though around 1850 many farms shifted to cattle and dairy production.

Currently agriculture remains important in the surrounding hamlets and villages, while Schüpfen is a center of trade and light industry.

The Bern-Biel cantonal road was first built in 1835-44 and connected Schüpfen to larger towns.

The good transportation links allowed Schüpfen residents to easily commute to Bern, Biel and Lyss for work or school.

In the 1970s new housing developments for the growing number of commuters grew up along the major roads and railway.

It consists of the villages of Schüpfen, Bundkofen, Schwanden, Ziegelried, Saurenhorn, Schüpberg, Allenschwil, Wintersschwil and Bütschwil as well as scattered farm houses.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules three Wings Argent, two addorsed and third in fess.

The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][12] The entire village of Schwanden and the hamlet of Winterswil are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 116, of which 113 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production.

In the tertiary sector; 121 or 25.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 101 or 20.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 27 or 5.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 8 or 1.7% were in the information industry, 10 or 2.1% were the insurance or financial industry, 24 or 5.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 35 or 7.2% were in education and 121 or 25.0% were in health care.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 343 or 10.3% were Roman Catholic, while 2,517 or 75.9% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.