Pak Kret - History

History

The Pak Kret area has been inhabited since at least the 18th century, under the rule of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The portion of the Chao Phraya river to the west of the Pak Kret city centre was excavated c. 1721–22 to bypass a meander in the river, forming the island of Ko Kret. The settlements on the bank of the bypass canal and at its mouth became known as Ban Tret Noi (บ้านเตร็ดน้อย) and Ban Pak Tret Noi (บ้านปากเตร็ดน้อย), meaning village on the lesser bypass and village on the mouth of the lesser bypass, respectively. (The "greater bypass" is further upriver in what is now Mueang Pathum Thani District.) Many ethnic Mon communities settled in the area during the Ayutthaya to early Rattanakosin periods.

Pak Kret was established as a sanitation district (sukhaphiban) on 31 August 1955. It covers the portion of Pak Kret District east of the river, namely the areas of Pak Kret, Bang Phut, Ban Mai, Bang Talat and Khlong Kluea Subdistricts. It was incorporated as a commune municipality (thesaban tambon) on 1 January 1992 and was later upgraded to town and then city status on 5 February 1996 and 20 April 2000. As Bangkok rapidly expanded during the late 20th century, so did Pak Kret develop and grow, its paddies and orchards being converted to housing estates and other residential areas.