The town's name is taken from the Book of Isaiah, 62:4. In some English translations, the word is given as "married" or "inhabited".[2]
Beulah was established on land that was once part of Brimstation. Closer settlement began in the 1880s and the town site was proclaimed in 1891. A post office opened on May 6, 1891, and the railway from Warracknabeal opened on 5 January 1893.[3][4] The line to Hopetoun opened on 6 March 1894.[4] The town claims to be the closest to the rabbit-proof fence, established in the first decade of the 20th century to prevent the incursion of rabbit plagues.[5]
Beulah was the location for the fictional town Kiewarra in the 2019 film The Dry, starring Eric Bana.[6]