Castletown is the former capital of the Isle of Man and site of Tynwald and can trace its roots back to 1090. The town has narrow streets and small fishing cottages. Fishing boats still continue to go out to fish from the harbour. Commercial traffic to the port ended in the 1970s, although there has been an ongoing expansion of finance and industrial businesses in the area.
The last person to be hanged on the Isle of Man was John Kewish in Castletown at Castle Rushen on 1 August 1872. In 1874, the House of Keys moved from Castletown to Douglas. The first telephones appeared in Castletown in 1901.
