The town of Moorreesburg originated on the farm Hooikraal given to Tobias Lochner in 1839 by Governor Sir George Napier. Moorreesburg was named after JC le Febre Moorrees (1807–1885), minister of the Swartland congregation of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk from 1833 to 1881. In terms of the Villages Management Act, 1881, a Village Management Board was established for Moorreesburg in April 1898 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 8011, 1 April 1898, Proclamation No 111).

The Municipality of Moorreesburg was established with effect from 1 March 1909 under provision of Proclamation No 98 of 1909 in terms of the Municipal Act of 1882 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette, No 9149, 2 March 1909).

In terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998) the existing Moorreesburg Municipality together with Municipality of Darling, Koringberg Transitional Local Council, Malmesbury Transitional Local Council, Malmesbury Transitional Representative Council and Yzerfontein Transitional Local Council was disestablished and the Swartland Local Municipality established (Province of Western Cape Provincial Gazette Extraordinary No 5589, 22 September 2000, Provincial Notice No 485, 22 September 2000). The Swartland Local Municipality forms part of the larger West Coast District Municipality.