The first settlement founded in the place, in 1553, by Pedro de Valdivia, was called Los Confines. It was destroyed by the Mapuche indians on no less than 7 different occasions and was finally reconstructed for the last time on December 7, 1862 by Cornelio Saavedra.
It was declared a city in 1871 and was connected to Santiago by rail in 1876.
The expedition which managed to settle the Araucanía Region permanently set off from Angol in 1881, and Angol became the point of departure for the Chilean and foreign settlers who occupied the land.