With the increasing population of the Swan River Settlement in 1830, it became evident that suitable land would have to be discovered for the growing of crops needed to provide necessary food.

Ensign Robert Dale, a 20-year-old officer of the 63rd Regiment, led a small party in the first exploratory journey over the Darling Range, during the winter months of 1830 into what was later to be known as the Avon Valley.

[9] He returned with a report of "park-like lands with scattered trees", and after a second expedition, Lieutenant-Governor Stirling concluded that there appeared to be 1,000 square miles of "the finest imaginable sheep-land".

Dale proposed an area two miles south of the summit of Mt Bakewell as the site for a future town to serve the district.

[12] The town grew slowly at first due to difficulties with the local aboriginals, as well as problems associated with using English farming techniques in an unfamiliar climate.

[17] In 1831, Revett Henry Bland settled in York, and with his business partner, Arthur Trimmer, leased a 10-acre site north of the town (on which they had built the first house, by the end of September 1831)[18] and took a grant over a 4,000 acre block to the south which they established as a farm, later called Balladong Farm, after the Ballardong Noongar, the Aboriginal occupiers of the area.

In 1836, John Henry Monger Snr arrived and bought the 10 acres of land immediately north of the town site from Bland and Trimmer for £100[20] on which the first house in York had been constructed[21] of wattle and daub.

[5]: 53 and 74 In July 1836 Lieutenant Henry William St Pierre Bunbury of the 21st Regiment was sent to York to respond to rising levels of violence between colonial settlers and Ballardong Noongar people.

[26] In 1840, the York Agricultural Society was established,[5]: 75  which became very influential in the following years, holding annual shows to the present day.

Following the discovery of gold in the Yilgarn in 1887, the town was teeming with miners, all alighting from the train and preparing to make the long journey across the plains to the goldfields.

"Tradition is that State Parliamentarians became so tired of hearing the rival Northam/York arguments that they suggested that representatives of the two towns decide the issue by a game of cards.

[29] Between 1968 and 1971, due to the general downturn in rural activities, and a progressive reduction in railway operations in favour of Northam, many York businesses closed and the population reduced to some extent.

In addition to its heritage and Arts and Crafts buildings and other architecture (refer below), the town features the York Motor Museum, the Courthouse complex, galleries, bric-à-brac and book shops, skydiving and paragliding, and walks along the picturesque Avon River and up Mt Brown.

But behind the main street lie a wealth of historic houses and cottages and places of interest each with its own story and of the generation of people who lived in them.

Faversham House, overlooking the north end of Avon Terrace, is one of the grandest surviving Colonial homes in the State.

[36] The Old York Hospital has similarity to William Morris's own home, Red House and is one of the most admired Arts and Crafts buildings in the State.

[38] The centre of the town has fine examples of a dozen other Victorian and Federation architectural styles, virtually uninterrupted by modern buildings.

[34] Most of the main street, Avon Terrace, has Victorian or Federation Free Classical buildings, including the Co-op (IGA) (1888 façade), the York Motor Museum, and Dinsdale's Shoe Emporium (1887) designed by Wright, with a cluster of Federation Romanesque[34] buildings at the north end, including the former Fire Station (1897).

York is in a temperate climate zone and experiences distinctly dry (and hot) summers[55] and cool, wet winters.

[57] A severe thunderstorm lashed the town and surrounding areas on 27 January 2011, resulting in roofs being ripped off, trees being uprooted and power lines being brought down.