Bargarh is one of the many forts built by the Chouhan dynasty.Although no clear data is available about the settlement, the old fort walls can be traced near the 'Jeera' river towards the plains of Ambapali. From an inscription of 11th Century AD it is believed that the original name of the place was "Bahgar Kota". Balaram Dev, the Chauhan King of Sambalpur ruled this province when it acquires the name "Bargarh". He made it his headquarters for some time while the fort near the Jeera River said to be build. Narayan Singh, the last Chauhan King of sambalpur gave the whole land of Bargarh to two Bramhin brothers Krushna Dash and Narayan Dash, son of Baluki Dash who was killed in action by the Gond Rebel led by Baldia Ray and Mahapatra Ray.The Padampur sub-division of bargarh, popularly known as the "Borasambhar Region" was the headquarters of the Zamindari extended over 2178 km2. This is the biggest sub-division of Bargarh District which has also a feudal history with a tribal leader.
Buddhism played a significant role in defining the lifestyle of the people for a short period of time. Some ancient Buddhist monasteries and sculptures can be seen along a belt starting from Bijepur block (Ganiapali) to the Paikamal block (Nrusinghanath), which has a clear mention in Huen-Tsang's literature as Po-Li-Mo-Lo-Ki-Li (Parimalagiri) (Pasayat,2007, 2008).
The legendary hero Veer Surendra Sai led his war against the British from Debrigarh, which is a peak on the Barapahad Range. His fight against the British Raj particularly after the First War of Independence in 1857 was remarkable in the history of freedom struggle in India (Pasayat and Singh, 2009; Panda and Pasayat, 2009). Debrigarh today is a tiger sanctuary. Barabakhra (12 caves) used to be a secret meeting place during this period.
Bargarh was a subdivision of old Sambalpur district until April 1992, when the then chief minister Mr. Biju Patnaik declared it as the headquarters of the newly formed district by the same name.