The town of Antrim was settled by a man named Philip Riley in the year of 1741, who was from Northern Ireland Antrim.

Scots-Irish settlers established a  Presbyterian church in Antrim in 1788.

With the falls providing water power, Great Brook was once lined with over twenty mills along its course from Gregg Lake to the Contoocook River. Commercial development centered on South Antrim. Cutlery was the major industry in this town, beginning with the manufacturing of apple-paring machines in 1864.