The oldest source mention of Września derives from 1256 and was found in a document issued in Poznań. Września as a town – civitas – for the first time was mentioned in 1357 in the letter of the bishop of Cracow – Bodzanta, who came from the house of Porajs; so the town must have been given the righst before 1357. The source records mention the name of Września in various ways: Vresc – 1256, Wressna – 1317, Wresna – 1364, Wreszna – 1449, Wresnija – 1527, Wrzesznya – 1530. The name of the town derives from the name of plant species: (the) heather (wrzos), which used to grow in this area. It is possible that first the river was given its name: Wrześnica, and then the town: Września. Jan Długosz in the introduction to his “Dzieje Polski” (The history of Poland) from the 16th century gave the name of the river Wrześnica as Wrzesznya and considered the river of second importance. The first owners of Września and its surroundings were the Poraj – Różyc family. According to the tradition of the house of Poraj, they are the house of Czech dukes called Sławnikowic. After the pogrom in Czechoslovakia in 995 some members of this house and their relative (the future Saint Wojciech) took shelter in Poland and king Bolesław Chrobry gave them large landed estates. The Porajs were the owners of Września till the middle of 16 century. Then the town belonged to the following families: the house of Doliwa-Wrzesińscy, the house of Szaszor-Bardzcy, the house of Ogończyk-Działyńscy, the house of Grzymała-Niegolewscy, the house of Niemira-Gniazdowscy and the house of Łodzia-Ponińscy. The ancestral coat of arms of the Poraj family (a white five-petal rose) has become the crest of the town. The crest has not been changed although the town was taken over by other families. The fact that Września had its crest showed that it had the town rights but unfortunately the locating document of Września has not stood the test of time – it was probably destroyed during the Swedish Flood, when the whole town was plundered and burnt. In the 17th century the Town Council asked Zygmunt Działyński – the then squire of Września, and the governor of Brześć Kujawski Province – to issue a new privilege. In 1671 Zygmunt Działyński signed the new privilage, or actually he confirmed the original locating certificate of Września.
A document concerning the tax amount from 1564, signed by the mayor Józef Gołąbek, is the oldest document bearing the crest of Września. On its seal there is an inscription: civit-atis-wrzesnen-nsis, which means: the town of Września. Another document bearing the crest of Września is the 18th century document by mayor Jakub Smagliński. The drawing of the shape shows widely spread rose petals overlapping one another. Rose of this kind dominate in the documents of the 19th and 20th century. In the collection of Muzeum Regionalne in Września there is a seal from between the wars which shows the image of the rose and is exactly the same as that on the cartouche of the town hall. During the reign of king Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk (1447 - 1492) and king Jan Olbracht (1492 -1501), when the Great Royal Treasurer was Piotr Poraj from Kurozwęk, the crest of the Porajs was also used by the treasurers of the Kingdom of Poland, and this is why there was a picture of the rose on Polish coins. As the then law said, the Cracow Mint was forced to put the sign of the Treasurer on the half-grosz from 1479 till 1498.
In the 13th century Września was slowly evolving into a market settlement. The present day street map contains the clear trace of anellipse. It was created on the left bank of Wrześnica, as the result of widening the road from Pyzdry to Gniezno. Września was an open town; it was not surrounded by walls. A mention in a document (from 1399) about jurors points to the fact that there was a town council in Września. During the thirteen-year war against the Teutonic Knights Września was obliged to send 15 foot soldiers to come to the aid of the castle in Malbork. In 1664 the town was destroyed by fire and Swedish military requisition.
Września developed as a centre of trade quite early. Along with the locating privilege it was given the right to hold a given number of markets and a week long fair each year. There was also a Royal Customhouse here. As regards nationalities Polish people predominated in Września. From the middle of the 17th century German People started to settle here. By 1750 the number of German population had risen to such an extent that they formed a separate evangelical community. In 1778 they were given the area of a hothouse to build a church and a new graveyard by the then squire of Września, Adam Poliński. In 1779 they received a house for their preacher and the teacher who worked at the evangelical school. The third religious group was a quite large Jewish community owning a synagogue and a graveyard in the centre of the town. In 1834 a public Jewish school was created, which existed till the inter-war time. The old wooden synagogue was destroyed by fire in 1873, and a new one was built in 1875, but it was blown up by Hitlerites (probably in 1940). As the result of the third partition of Poland, Września was placed in the area of the Prussian partition. From 1807 till 1825 the town was included in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. After the Congress of Vienna it returned to the Prussian partition. In 1818 there was a new administrative district as part of the Grand Duchy of Poznan. At that time Września was still a private town belonging to the Poniński family. The early years of the 19th century were a turning point for the town because of the reforms that took place. In 1833 an edict concerning the extraction of towns from the influence of the nobility was issued. In 1841 Września became an independent town. Growing and becoming more and more brutal Germanization 1918 meant regaining their independence. An insurgent battalion liberated the town on the 28th of December 1918. The detachment under Wł. Wiewiórowski command fought in the battles of Zdziechowa and Szubin. In January 1919 the Military District II under general Grudzielski's command was formed. The aim of this fight was to dislodge the German troops beyond the line of the Noteć River. Parallel to the uprising control was being taken over by Polish people and the polonization of the social and economic life came. In 1920, during the Polish-Russian war, the Volunteer Legion of Września under Stanislaw Mycielski's command was formed. On the Eastern front they fought bloody battles of Stock, Kobryń, Kamien Królewski, Zalesie and Horodec.
Between the wars the town developed dynamically. In 1921 the railway line from Strzałkowo to Kutno was extended and a new track was set up on the line from Poznan to Września. From 1919-1939 "Orędownik Wrzesiński" was issued. In 1920 the newspaper was polonized, after A. Prądzyński had bought the printing-firm. From 1931 till 1937 a monthly magazine "Wici Wielkopolskie", which was devoted to culture and art, was issued. M. Turwid was the editor-in-chief, and A. Prądzyński was the editor. At that time a lot of houses were built, a town park, a stadium, an old people's home and a watch-tower came into existence and a lot of streets were re-paved and provided with a sewer system.
The development of the town was roughly halted in September 1939. On the 10th of September Września was occupied by German troops. According to the decree of Hitler, a part of so called "territories included into the Reich" was converted into the district Reichsgau Posen, called Wartegau, which means the Country of the Warta River, and Września belonged to this district. At that time the extermination of the Jewish population occured. In the administrative district of Września there were three labour camps for the Jews, where most of them were murdered. The Polish inhabitants were displaced to the area which was not incorporated into the Reich, that is to say to German-occupied Poland. An organised resistance movement was active during most of the time of the occupation. In 1940 a camp was built for French prisoners of war who were doing river training in Września. In 1945 the Russian formed a temporary camp for recaptured allied prisoners: American, English, Italian and French. On the 22nd of January Września was liberated by Russian troops. After the war the town was re-built and a new companies arose. At the present time industry is represented by: Tonsil S.A. - a producer of electroacoustics devices, Mikroma - a producer of electric machines (of little power), Meramont - a producer of automatic devices, Spółdzielnia Inwalidów - a producer of units made of plastic, Massive - a Belgian producer of lighting materials. There are about 3000 economic subjects. There are 16 primary schools, 3 junior high schools, the Complex of Schools for Mentally 111 Children and 5 secondary schools in the commune. Diary Training Centre has been active since 1994. The cultural activities are supported by the Culture House, the library, the museum, the cinema, choirs and numerous societies and organisations. Local newspapers, e.g. "Wiadomości Wrzesińskie" and "Tygodnik Wrzesiński" are issued. The town is in good terms with its twin-towns: Garbsen in Germany and Nottingham in Great Britain. In 1985, according to the resolution of People's State Council, Września was awarded the third-class Cross of Grunwald for the inhabitants' contribution to struggle against the pressure of the German language, culture, customs and the way of life over the centuries. Untill 1975 Września was the chief town of the administrative district. When administrative districts were suppressed, the town and commune were administered by authority with the help of People's Town Council. Since 1999 the town has been administered by a local self-government: the Mayor of the Town and the Town Council. In 1999 the administrative district was reactivated. As a result of self-government reform the town of Września has received autonomy in realizing investments. In 1992 the tip in Bardo was given to use, local authorities have relocated to renovated Town Hall, barracks have been taken up from the soviet army, new market-place was built at St Stanislas Square. In 1993 the first foreign investor from Belgium – Massive Poland – invested in Września (producer of lighting). In 1994 was built new market-place at Kościuszki Street. The Września Commune has started building a waste-water-treatment which was given to exploitation in 1997. Water piping in Commune was finished in 1994. The Town Hall has put in gas, telephone and sewer in the Września Commune. In 1995 has place preelections to the President of RP. In 1998 the commune brought to the end total renovation of primary school number 1. It has also built gym at primary school in Otoczna. In 1999 the Town Hall gave to use primary school in Nowy Folwark and in 2003 other primary school in Kaczanowo. In 1998 Września gave a historical coach house to enterprise "Cenos" to reveal there a swimming pool which was opened in 1999. From 1998 to 2002 municipal swimming pool was renovated and given to use. On develop is a complex composed of swimming pool, helter-skelter, ice rink, playing field to beach volleyball. In 1998 Association of Social Building was established. The first apartments were given to use in 2000. Many streets and sidewalks were modernized and made-over, along Słowackiego Street standed bicycle path. In view of security Września has erected a monitoring of the town. In 2001 there was an official ceremony of centenary of the Strike of the Children of Września. In 2003 Spanish company "Gestamp Automocion" has started building a new plant. Września has become an academic town - College of Trade and Accounting in Poznań and Foreign Language Teacher Training College opened in Września its branches.
