After the Conquest of Gour in 1303, two disciple of Shah Jalal; Shah Bahauddin and Shah Putla Fattah, migrated to Bhadeshwar in modern-day Golapganj where their mazars remains today.

In 1740, during the reign of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, Gulab Ram Ray of Murshidabad was appointed the Dewan of Sylhet with the permission of the Faujdar of Sylhet, Shamsher Khan, and the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. Gulab was a practising Hindu, and was informed about how Krishna Chaitanya’s paternal home was in Dhakadakshin (in present-day Golapganj). The Dewan then ordered for a road and bridge to be made from Sylhet town to Dhakadakshin, to make it easier for those wanting to visit the place. When the Dewan reached Chaitanya’s home, he built a Hindu temple and created a large pond next to it. From Hetimganj to Dhakadakshin, the road is now known as Dewan Road after Gulab himself. The Dewan’s Bridge also remains today as an ancient culvert. The area was also renamed Gulabganj after the Dewan, which eventually changed to Golapganj (although older records mention the name Golabganj).

A thana was founded in Hetimganj originally and then moved to Golabganj Bazaar. The Golabganj Thana was formed in 1906. Revolts in Ronikeli and Bhadeshwar were held during the Nankar Rebellion.In the aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, a mass grave was found in Sundisail and there remains a monument in the upazila as a memorial. It was upgraded to an upazila in 1983.