Edson was incorporated as a town on September 21st, 1911. The community came into existence as a result of the Grande Trunk Pacific Railroad laying track through the Canadian west to the Rocky Mountains. As the steel pushed on, land speculators felt the Mountain Divisional Point would be located at a spot called Wolf Creek. They moved in and purchased all available land. Upon learning of the land speculation, Grande Trunk officials moved the purposed site eight miles west and planted their flag in the muskeg, thus establishing the location of a new community which was initially known as Heatherwood. A petition, by the residents, to the Post Master General, requested that the name of the post office be changed from Heatherwood to Edson in recognition of Edson J. Chamberlain, General Manager of the Grande Trunk Pacific.

During the 1930's, Edson saw carloads of bituminous coal from the Coal Branch roll through on their way to Canadian and world markets as the railways and mining industry became the main Depression-era employers.

Following World War II, the town improved its infrastructure and new businesses were launched. The conversion from coal and oil-fired railroad locomotives to diesel soon caused a decline in the mining industry, and this led to a decrease in population.

Old Town In the 1950's, upgrading of Highway 16 caused a dramatic increase in private, commercial and industrial traffic. Today, the Yellowhead Route carries some of the heaviest traffic flow in Alberta. The Yellowhead Route has been officially declared as the second Trans-Canada Highway(the first being Hwy. 1).

Petroleum headlined in the 1960's as petroleum-related industry brought prosperity to the Edson District. In the 1970's a revitalized coal industry saw the Cardinal River Coal and Luscar Sterco mines launched in the area.

The 1980's saw the development of Pelican Spruce Mills (now Weyerhaeuser Canada) and Sundance Forest Industries - two of Edson's major employers.

In the future, the area's natural resources are expected to remain major contributors to the Edson economy.