Residents in outlying areas of surrounding towns were finding it difficult to fulfil the obligation to attend church every Sunday, so they petitioned the state for creation of a new town central to their homes, and in 1735 Upton was incorporated, taking land from Hopkinton, Mendon, Uxbridge, and Sutton.

[3] Samuel Taft had 22 children and hosted President George Washington on his inaugural tour of New England in 1789.

[5] The Upton Fire Department was incorporated at Town Meeting on April 9, 1839, and has served Upton and its residents faithfully for 175 years In 2018, the town, led by the Economic Development Committee,[6] began the process of redeveloping its downtown area.

[20] The Upton Town Library was founded in March 1871,[21][22] and was until 2023 housed at a converted church downtown.

After a 20-year effort, built using a $12 million bond approved at the 2021 Town Meeting and subsequent election, the new Upton Community Center was opened on May 1, 2023.

It combines a new library building, a new senior center, a refurbished children's playground, and a number of meeting rooms and study areas.

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School is a trade school also open to the nearby towns of Northbridge, Grafton, Bellingham, Uxbridge, Millville, Sutton, Milford, Hopedale, Blackstone, Douglas and Mendon.