In 1842, Drøbak was the first place to receive city status in Akershus. Ever since the Ice Age, people have lived at the narrowest point of the Oslofjord. The Vikings came with longships along the fjord and one of the courts was at Husvik. Settlement has taken place despite the steep slopes which made the work of transporting the materials up and down to the water hard and demanding. There have been several theories about Drøbak's origin and what it means. But that "Drugbakir" or "Drugibakki" comes from quite a hill is the most likely theory.

In the beginning, Drøbak was a modest beach town with fishermen's huts clinging to the rocks. At the beginning of the 18th century, business increased in Drøbak through the export of "Dutch beams" which were used in the large damming work in Holland. The timber was exported as beams because there was a lack of sawmill capacity in the area. The Dutch brought with them goods such as grain, groats, cheese, butter, fabrics, roof tiles and bricks. The city's greatness came with the merchants and sailing ships and the number of inhabitants eventually increased to 7-800 "souls" at the beginning of the 19th century. Drøbak had the designation "loading station" in the same way as Son and Hølen. Navigating large sailing ships in narrow waters was not easy, nor was sailing all the way to Christiania. Therefore, the skippers chose to unload and load in Drøbak.

Merchant Niels Carlsen was a very rich man, and a large sailing ship owner who owned 10 ships. In addition to the shipping business, he ran a timber trade and banking business.He selected one of his best plots of land and built Drøbak's first church with timber from his own forest. The church has had a central place in the city ever since. In 1787, the bishop's daughter Anna Pauludan (widow of Christen Carlsen) donated the property to support poor widows of the bourgeoisie and build a house for them. The house is the current "Hospital", which is also today a center for the elderly, and is a great neighbor to the church.

Two people were of great importance to Drøbak's development. One was magistrate Hans Peter Ellefsen who bought the property on the square known as "Skrivergården". The other was Frederik Ring who was a loyal man and adventurous person who had spent many years in South America. He established a trading business with the import of textiles. Ellefsen and Ring joined forces to establish Follo Sparebank in 1843.

The Drøbak strait strategic location meant that King Christian Frederik decided in 1814 that 3 cannon batteries should be built along the fjord. The fortifications were constantly expanded from 1846 and completed in 1853. During King Oscar the First's visit on 23 August 1855, the fortress was named Oscarsborg. Drøbak became a garrison town, and the relationship with the State and the military has been of great importance to the local community throughout the years. "Borgen" became a large and safe workplace for all kinds of craftsmen and professionals, and military personnel became visible elements in the Drøbak environment.