The area was originally known as Geegelup, which was believed to mean "place of gilgies" in the Noongar language, referring to the fresh water lobster that inhabits the area. However recent research suggests the actual meaning of Geegelup may be "place of spears". In 1852, A.C. Gregory made the original survey of the Geegelup area and in 1857, Edward GodfreyHester and John Blechynden settled there. In 1861, convicts built the road from Donnybrook into the area. In 1864 the Geegelup Post Office was established in a building on Blechynden’s property that also served as the police station. The first purpose-built police station was constructed on the south bank of the Blackwood River in mid 1867. The townsite was surveyed in April 1868 by Thomas Carey, who proposed the name Bridgetown for two reasons - "as it is at a bridge and the Bridgetown was the first ship to put in at Bunbury for the wool from these districts", and was approved and gazetted on 9 June 1868. From then until about 1885, many buildings including the primary school, post office and two hotels were constructed, many of which are still standing today. In 1885, the Bridgetown Agricultural Society was formed and local farmers produced sheep, cattle, dairy products, timber, fruit and nuts. The building boom in Western Australia during the gold boom of the 1890s saw an increased demand for sawn timber, and numerous mills opened in the Bridgetown area. In 1907, a number of significant buildings including a new police station were erected. Until the 1980s, the land surrounding Bridgetown was almost exclusively used for broadacre agriculture and improved pasture. From the late 1970s, the area became increasingly attractive to tourists as a tranquil and picturesque country town an accessible distance from Perth. Some people, attracted by the areas's aesthetic qualities and rural lifestyle moved to the town permanently, which resulted in a strong demand for residential and hobby farm allotments, at a time when there was a coincident global downturn in agricultural markets. Many farmers sold up, and much of the most aesthetically pleasing land was subdivided and sold. The demographic change had a profound impact on the town's industry, replacing demand for farm services with demand for services in the tourism and recreation sectors. However, the dramatic increase in infrastructure such as housing, roads and power reticulation detracted from the rural aesthetic that attracted the influx in the first place.
Present day
Bridgetown is the seat of the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes and the centre of a productive agricultural district. Many buildings in the town centre are over a century old. The town has a Jigsaw Gallery and Museum, which claims to host the only jigsaw collection of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and also a primary school and high school, district hospital, telecentre, shire offices, roadhouse, agricultural showground, shopping facilities, accommodation for travellers and numerous picnic spots along the Blackwood River. The rural residential area of Kangaroo Gully to the town's east has grown since the 1990s. Each year, Bridgetown hosts many events, including:
May: Festival of Country Gardens
June to August: Bridgetown in the Winter Festival. Shops are adorned with blue lights, many events and workshops.
