Chidlow Townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and was named after a pioneer family of Northam. Settlement began in 1883 when it became known that Chidlow's Well was to be the terminus of the second section of the Eastern Railway. The railway station and townsite were changed from Chidlows well to Chidlow in 1920.