History of Ipoh, Perak

Ipoh was founded in the 1500s as Sumatran Malay indigenous settlements along the banks of the Kinta River. Early settlements of Ipoh consist of many villages that was setup at the west of Kinta riverbank actively developed by the 10th. Dato’ Panglima Kinta ‘Mohamed Yusof’. Owing to the tin boom in 1884, the village eventually grew into a township. By 1890, it has 340 houses and a population of about 4,000.

However, the Old Town was only said to have been officially established in 1892, after the great fire which razed a third of its wooden buildings in the town. The damage was estimated at $100,000 Straits Dollar. From then on, thatch houses were gradually pulled down and replaced with brick buildings.

The Great of Fire of Ipoh gave planners the opportunity to lay out the streets in a more orderly grid pattern and the town was rebuilt in time for the second tin rush. Chinese miners, descended upon Ipoh, transforming ii into a business and social center. New shophouses was rebuilt using bricks and the area was known as ‘New Town’. 

When the other side of the river (eastern bank) was developed from 1900s to 1930s and known as ‘New Town’, thus, the existing area became the ‘Old Town’ as it is known today. The ‘New Town’ was started to develop with modern urban planning concept in 1905 by a local Chinese Hakka millionaire, Yau Tet Shin.

Ipoh gained Municipal status on 31 May 1962 and was granted City status on May 1988.
History of Ipoh, Perak