Present-day Sackville is in the Mi’kmaq district of Siknikt (to which the place name Chignecto may be traced), which roughly comprised Cumberland, Westmorland and part of Albert counties.

Many regional toponyms are Mi’kmaq including Tidnish, Minudie, Missaguash River, Aboushagan Road, Midgic, Memramcook and Shemogue.

A portage connected Beaubassin by way of Westcock and the valley now known as Frosty Hollow with the Memramcook and Petitcodiac rivers and was an important link in the communications system between Acadia and Quebec.

Surveyor Charles Morris visited in 1748, and reported Acadian settlements at Westcock; Pré des Bourgs, (Sackville); Pré des Richards, (Middle Sackville); Tintamare, (Upper Sackville); La Butte, Le Coup, Le Lac (Aulac); Portage, at the head of the Missaguash River; Beaubassin (adjacent to Beausejour); Jolicoeur, (Jolicure) and Pont à Buot, (Point de Bute).

Farther afield, there were settlements at La Planche (Amherst) and Baie Verte for a total population of about 3,000.

The centre of activity started to shift to the present downtown area when in 1836 William Crane moved his business to the site of the former town hall, and built his house across the street.

He also donated land for a small Methodist chapel that was built in 1838 and later evolved into the much larger Sackville Methodist/United Church.

[12] That same year, Christopher Boultenhouse launched the 192 ton steamship The Westmorland, which carried passengers, mail and freight between Shediac, Summerside, Charlottetown, and Pictou from 1857 to 1863 for the governments of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

It had been intended that the original route for the line would run north across the Tantramar Marshes from Fort Beauséjour to what is currently Middle Sackville and then on through the lowlands to Scoudouc and Moncton.

The National Policy of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's administration in the 1870s-1880s saw various industries cluster along the Intercolonial Railway in Amherst and Sackville.

The Sackville railway yard and station were constantly busy until the opening of publicly funded highways following World War II started a slow decline.

The abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989 saw the line to Cape Tormentine removed at the same time as the Trans-Canada Highway was being expanded to a 4-lane freeway.

As the railway consolidated to a single mainline running through town, businesses left, including offices of Atlantic Wholesalers.

On 1 January 2023, Sackville amalgamated with the village of Dorchester and parts of three local service districts to form the new town of Tantramar.

[18] In November 2022, Sackville received the accreditation of being named an international wetland city [19] under the Ramsar Convention, the first in North America.

Drainage is poor and there are slow-moving meandering rivers, shallow lakes, bogs, and intertidal zones.

CN Rail's mainline between Halifax and Montreal runs through Sackville, parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Sackville Memorial Hospital serves the region, as well as the Community Health Centre which houses several physicians, an optometrist, a dentist, and a pharmacy.

[21] The arena can seat over 750 spectators[22] and is the home rink for the Mount Allison University women's hockey team.

[23] The main employers are a Moneris Solutions call centre, Russel Metals, Sackville Memorial Hospital, and Mount Allison University.

Located on 66 Main Street, in the centre of downtown Sackville the library opens its doors to all demographics of the population.