Archaeologists have found traces of human activity dating back as far as 6000 years B.C in the area. Most of these findings have been in the vicinity of the H� River, which flows from the hills in the east of the municipality to the ocean in the west. These early inhabitants were mostly hunters that survived on fishing and small game hunting.
In 3000 B.C. the area was covered by large oak and pine forests. It is also during that time that people started to settle down and farm the land. The transition from hunting to agriculture led to the clearing of most of the forests.
The region also played an important part in the Viking age (eight to eleventh century). N�rb� is 35 kilometers south of Hafrsfjord, where In 872 the battle of Hafrsfjord took place. The western parts of Norway were unified under one monarch after this battle
In 950 Erik the Red, founder of the first Norse settlement in Greenland was born in �ksnevad 17 kilometers north of N�rb�. Erik the Red was also the father of the famous Viking explorer Leiv Erikson, who was the first European to set foot on the American mainland in 1003.
In 968 Olav Trygvason, king of Norway from 995 to 1000 was born in Obrestad just outside the village of N�rb�. Olav Trygvason played a big part in bringing Christianity to Norway and is believed to have built the first church in Norway in 995. He also founded the city of Trondheim in 997.
In 1349 the black plague killed nearly 2/3 of the population in the area.
In 1834 the village was given its present day name, which coincided with the inauguration of the new church.
In 1878 the J�rbanen rail line was completed.
In 1940 the Germans invaded Norway and large areas of the coastline of J�ren was lined with high explosive mines. The Germans forced many of the Norwegian males in the area to work as laboures for the German occupying forces
