Nonthaburi is over 400 years old, dating back to when Ayutthaya
was the capital. The town was originally located at Tambon Ban
Talat Khwan, a famous fruit orchard where the Chao Phraya River
and various canals pass through.
King Prasat Thong ordered the digging of
a canal as a shortcut from the south of Wat Thai Muang to Wat
Khema because the old waterway flowed into Om River to Bang
Yai then to Bang Kruai Canal next to Wat Chalo before ending
in front of Wat Khema.
After the new shortcut was completed, the
Chao Phraya River changed its flow into the new route that remains
today. In 1665, King Narai the Great noticed that the new route
gave enemies too much proximity to the capital. Therefore, he
ordered that a fortress be built at the mouth of Om River and
relocated Nonthaburi to this area. A city shrine still stands
there.
Later during the reign of King Rama IV of
the Rattanakosin period, he ordered the town moved to the mouth
of Bang Su Canal in Ban Talat Khwan. King Rama V then had the
provincial hall built there on the left bank of the Chao Phraya
River. In 1928, the hall was moved to Ratchawitthayalai, Ban
Bang Khwan, Tambon Bang Tanao Si. It is now the Training Division
of the Ministry of Interior on Pracha Rat 1 Road, Amphoe Muang,
on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. The building is of European
architecture decorated with patterned woodwork. The Fine Arts
Department has registered it as an historical site. The provincial
hall is now on Rattanathibet Road.
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