History of Tehri Garhwal District before the establishment of Panwar Dynasty is not very clear. Kanak Pal was the first ruler of the region. It is said that the prince Kanak Pal who hailed from Malwa visited Badrinath (presently in Chamoli district) where he met the then mightiest king Bhanu Pratap. King Bhanu Pratap was impressed with the prince and got his only daughter married to him and also handed over his kingdom. Gradually Raja Kanak Pal and his descendents extended their empire by conquering all the forts of Garhwal region. Thus up to 1803 that is for around 915 years the whole of Garhwal region remained under their control.

Further, according to the history of Tehri Garhwal District, during 1794 and 1795 Garhwal was under the grip of severe famine and again in 1883, the country was terribly shaken by an earthquake. Gorkhas had by then started invading this territory and heralded their influence over the region. The people of the region being already affected by natural calamities were in the terrible condition and therefore could not oppose the invasion of the Gorkhas.

On the other hand, Gorkhas whose several attempts for capturing the fort Langur Garhi had earlier failed were now in a powerful position. Therefore, in 1803, they again invaded Garhwal region when King Pradyumna Shah was the ruler. King Pradyumna Shah was killed in the battle in Dehradun but his only son (King Sudarshan Shah was minor at that time) was cleverly saved by the trusted courtiers. With the victory of Gorkhas in this battle their dominion was established in Garhwal region. Later on their kingdom extended up to Kangra and they ruled over this region continuously for 12 years before they were thrown away from Kangra by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. On the other hand Sudarshan Shah could manage help from East India Company and got his kingdom freed from Gorkha rulers. The East India Company merged Kumaon, Dehradun and east Garhwal in the British Empire and the west Garhwal was given to Sudarshan Shah which was then known as Tehri Riyasat.

King Sudarshan Shah established his capital at Tehri town and afterwards his successors Pratap Shah, Kirti Shah and Narendra Shah established their capital at Pratap Nagar, Kirtinagar and Narendra Nagar respectively. Their dynasty ruled over this region from 1815 to 1949. During the Quit India Movement people of this region actively participated in the freedom struggle of the country. After the independence of the country in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat started their movement for getting themselves freed from the clutches of Maharaja. Due to the movement the situation became out of his control and was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently the 60th king of Pawar Vansh Manvendra Shah accepted the sovereignty of Indian Government. Thus in 1949 Tehri Riyasat was merged in Uttar Pradesh and was given the status of a new district.