As per the history of Udham Singh Nagar District, formerly it was a portion of district Nainital before the Terai belt was separated to form the present Udham Singh Nagar on 30th of September, 1995. In the past this land which is full of forest land was neglected till 1948 due to its bad climate. Marshy lands, extreme heat, rains which lasted months, a place full of wild animals, diseases and no means of transportation were the main reasons that prevented the formation of a colony here.
According to historians, hundreds of years ago village Rudrapur was established by a devotee of Rudra or by Hindu tribal chief called Rudra, which has passed through phases of development to take the shape of city Rudrapur. The importance of Rudrapur has increased as it is the headquarters of Udham Singh Nagar District. During the reigns of Mughal emperor Akbar this land was handed over to King Rudra Chandra in 1588. The king established a permanent military camp there to oppose any invasions. There is a saying that Rudrapur was named after King Rudra Chandra. During the reigns of British rulers, Nainital was made a district and in 1864 - 1865 the whole of Terai and Bawar was put under `Terai and Bawar Government Act` which was governed directly by the British crown. The history of Udham Singh Nagar District associated with the region`s development started in 1948 after the partition of the country. Immigrant from north-west and eastern areas were reestablished in a land area of around 164.2 sq kms under `UP Nivesh Yojana`. Personal dwellers were not allotted land in accordance with crown grant act. The first batch of immigrants came in December 1948.
According to a folktale when king Rudra was passing through, his chariot got stuck into marshy land, so he decided to build a temple and well at that place. The present Atariya temple is the same at a distance of 2 kms from the bus stand and half a kilometre away from the Rudraur-Haldwani motor route. During the occasion of `Navratras`, a large fair is held here. This fair attracts thousands of devotees from different parts of the country. The fair is held for 10 days.
