The earliest known settlements in Wohlen date from the late Hallstatt era (600-500 BC).

The harvested grain was probably for the maintenance of the Roman troops at the military camp Vindonissa.

Of the estates all that remains is masonry, tile, mosaic pieces and coins, as well as some foundations at Häslerhau.

The name is first mentioned in 1178/79 as Vuolon / Volen, and goes back to the Old High German Walh, which means Vlachs or romanus, a term for the romanized locals.

Shortly after 1100, an ancestor of the Lords of Volen donated a small church to the village.

The lords of Volen (1185–1425) were the largest landowners in the village and the only local family who made the leap from the peasantry into the Habsburg military nobility.

These records start just as the last large plague hit the city in the autumn and winter of 1635/36, killing approximately one quarter of the people.

Following a disagreement on whether to use force or diplomacy to get the government to reform, Johann Heinrich Fischer left Wohlen for Merenschwand to raise a rebel militia.

Following a bloodless invasion of Aarau, known as the Freiämtersturm, the government agreed to every demand of the rebels.

Of the rest of the land, 32.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Pile inverted Sable and a Chief Gules.

[6] The age distribution, as of 2008[update], in Wohlen is; 1,424 children or 10.0% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,802 teenagers or 12.7% are between 10 and 19.

[11] The historical population is given in the following table:[10] The Häslerhau and Hohbüehl (two separate groups of Iron Age burial mounds) and the Catholic Church of St. Leonhard are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

[15][16] From the 2000 census[update], 7,531 or 56.5% were Roman Catholic, while 2,626 or 19.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.