The settlement of the territory is ancient. We find sites dating from the Paleolithic to the Islamic period, as evidenced by the cave paintings of Rincón del Nando, the Iberian remains of the Corbó Castle, smelting furnaces at Masía de Forés, Islamic farmhouses, etc. In fact, the intensity of the Islamic influence has given rise to the survival of a great number of place names. The name Benassal itself is proof of thatwhich etymologically means “the son of Alano”, although other interpretations assert that it means “the son of the honey farmer”.

Upon conquest by Jaime I, Benassal was ceded to Blasc de Alagó, who granted the Town Charter to Aitona knight Berenguer de Carratalà, on January 3, 1239.
The new Christian town, created around the Church and the castle of La Mola, would later expand after the brief Templars period (1303-1319). Later, in 1320, the town was fortified under the dominion of the Montesa Order, and remained until 1560, the year in which the town joined the royal crown.
The Culla Tenure, of which Benassal was part, established itself as an independent and autonomous parcel. At the beginning of the 16th century, Benassal received the title of wall town and established itself as a separate region from Culla. However, during this same century, Benassal recovered from the population decline of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and developed the activities of livestock, agriculture and wool manufacturing.
In the 18th century, the War of Succession left significant aftermath both for the Valencian Country and Benassal. The support given to the Borbons in Benassal resulted only in plundering and disappointment.
However, throughout the eighteenth century, the population growth and economic prosperity would continue at the previous rate.
This population increase in Benassal (two thousand inhabitants at the beginning of the 19th century) was not halted by the looting of French troops in 1811 during the French War, nor by the Carlist Wars.
Such growth was mainly the result of activities such as agriculture, livestock, textile manufacturing, commerce and an emerging tourism. By 1877, farmhouses reached 150, and Benassal approached the end of the 19th century with 3,000 inhabitants, its highest population. Moreover, the En Segures Fountain became a benchmark and a very important tourist center.
During the 20th century, the civil war and emigration were two crucial events. The latter, mediating a slow, constant displacement, would cut Benassal’s population in half. However, the consolidation of the En Segures Fountain as a tourist and health benchmark ensured a meaningful tourist activity for the town’s economic development.