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The most ancient finds from the area of Balassagyarmat date back to the middle Copper Age. Further archeological finds demonstrate the existance of important trade routs in this area between the 1st and the 4th centuries AD. Hungarian settlements most probably already developed at the time of the first appearance of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin around 890 (Gyarmat may have been the name of a tribe; 'gyarmat' also means colony or settlement). In the 15th century the town was owned by the Balassa family from which the first part of the name of the town is derived. From 1790 Balassagyarmat was the Nógrád county seat which 150 years later was moved to Salgótarján.