The East Granby area, first settled in 1664, was one of four Congregational parishes in Simsbury. The Turkey Hills Ecclesiastical Society in 1786 became a section of Granby, and in 1858 was incorporated as the Town of East Granby.

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An unusual geographical feature of a basalt ridge dividing the town lengthwise, has had considerable influence upon its character. 

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The first incorporated copper mine in America was on the western side of the Talcott Range. The mine subsequently became Newgate Prison, a Revolutionary War jail, and the first state prison in the United States (1790). 

Farming was the mainstay of the town for much of its history. The early twentieth century saw local farmers specializing in dairy product and tobacco. The number of operating farms  diminished greatly as the population of the town increased from 838 in 1858 to 5277 in 2010, but the rural character of East Granby remains.