The earliest inabitants of Lushoto district were the
Sambaa. Who formed the
Shambaa Kingdom during the 18th to 20th centuries based in
Vugha. During the German occupation l, Lushoto town was named
Wilhelmstal (William's Valley) and was named after Emperor
Wilhelm II. During the German colonial period from the 1890s to 1918 the area was popular with settlers, hence the
German place name of Wilhelmstal. Large farms and plantations were created, and the district was valued for its pleasant mountain climate. Numerous church missions were, and remain, active. Between 1893 and 1911, the German
Ostafrikanische Eisenbahngesellschaft (East African Railway Company) constructed an important railway line starting at
Tanga on the coast and passing along the Usambara Mountains with a station at Mombo, about from Wilhelmstal, to "New"
Moshi at
Kilimanjaro. The initial plan of the
Usambarabahn was to connect the port of Tanga with
Lake Victoria by passing south of the Usambara Mountains. This was in direct competition with parallel
British efforts in colonial
Kenya. From 4 June 1912 to 12 May 1913, the line was renamed
Nordbahn (Northern Railway). According to the 2002 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Lushoto District was 419,970. By 2012, the population had increased to 492,441. In 2016, Lushoto district was separated from Bumbuli District there to population of Lushot as of 2012 was 332,436. In 2022, the population was 350,958. ==Administrative subdivisions==