Yerecoin was the Aboriginal name for a nearby well, first recorded by a surveyor in 1879. It was first established as a railway station on a new line north from Toodyay, which was approved in 1914 and was extended from Bolgart to Calingiri in 1917 and further to Piawaning (10 km north of Yerecoin) in 1919. The surrounding land was owned by the Midland Railway Company, and was not subdivided by the company until 1925. The company also set aside 200 acres (0.81 km2) for a townsite at Yerecoin, but the land was sold to one owner, and development of the townsite area was slow. A school was opened in 1927, and was followed by other community buildings. The town was gazetted in 1966.[3]