John Logerquist founded Gotham in 1635. It was presumably named after the village in England, famous for its wise fools. At the time, it was just a small outpost on in the mostly unexplored New World. However, as more and more emigrants came over from Europe it began to grow.

By the mid-1700s, the American colonies had grown restless and had begun to choke under the yoke of England. Increasing taxation among other reasons had many thinking about independence. In 1764 Thomas Jefferson, Jacob Stockman, and others decide to perform a mystic rite known as the Ceremony of the Bat. In the ceremony, they brought forth a virgin to sacrifice to a demon known as Barbathos, but they were interrupted and the demon became the spirit of Gotham City. This foreshadows a later rite, which would create the living spirit of America, which would empower heroes like Minute Man, Brother John, and, more recently, Uncle Sam.

When the War for Independence broke out, the British held Gotham for most of the war. However, a victory was won in Gotham by patriot Darius Wayne who is an ancestor of Batman. After the war in return for his heroism, he was rewarded for his heroism by a plot of land that would become the traditional estates of the Wayne family. Darius began building Wayne Mansion (though he never lived to occupy it) and also founded Robinson Park. The wilderness guerilla and war hero Tomahawk also decided to make Gotham his home for a short time.

In 1800s a time travelling Swamp Thing swamp thing visited early Gotham. Tomahawk encountered a slave trader, the immortal Jason Blood, who is then an Admiral in the Royal British Navy. The encounter left Tomahawk disgusted with city life and he left Gotham with his Indian lover, Moon Fawn.

Wayne Manor then fell out of the hands of the Wayne family. Solomon and Joshua Wayne, grandsons of Darius, were soon able to buy it back. Afterward, Joshua joined the Underground Railroad and used the caves beneath the Manor as a hiding place for runaway slaves. Joshua was later mortally wounded in this pursuit and, in order to preserve the secret of the Underground Railway, climbed into a drainage pipe to ensure that his corpse would not be found.

Gotham continued to grow in size. Eventually, Solomon Wayne, who had become a judge, hired the eccentric architect Cyrus Pickney. His industrial-gothic style would continue to dominate the look of Gotham. Solomon Waynes's son Alan founded Wayne Enterprises, which grew to become Gotham's, and later one of America's, leading corporations.

In 1894, in Slaughter Swamp outside of the city, the wealthy Cyrus Gold is murdered. He would later return in various incarnations of the monster Solomon Grundy.

In 1920, Prohibition was declared. Many criminals begin selling illegal booze, along with other illicit substances. A vicious gang war erupted. Guiseppe Bertinelli united three of the "Five Families" of Crime in Gotham behind him against the other two, winning the gang war. With this, corruption and graft among politicians and the police began to grow.

In 1921, Elizabeth Arkham Asylum is founded by Amadeus Arkham who would himself later be imprisoned there.

Gotham, like the rest of America, is later hit hard by the Great Depression. During this time, organized crime grew increasingly powerful. Corruption infiltrated all levels of Gotham society from cops who were paid to look the other way to politicians in the pockets of gang lords. At the same time, however, Gotham became the home of two of the earliest superheroes: Green Lantern I and Black Canary I. Eventually, the Justice Society would even make its headquarters in Gotham for a short while. However, no matter what good these forces managed to do, the city remained in the control of organized crime. The mayor was murdered in the first of a series of grizzly murders that would taunt the then protector of Gotham, Green Lantern (Alan Scott).

Gotham would remain in the clutches of criminals for most of the 20th centuries. In the 1960's Tomaso Panessa arrived in the city disrupting the balance of power among the "Five Families." Not soon afterwards, a vigilante known as The Reaper appeared, who wantonly slew criminals and terrorized the city before mysteriously disappearing.

One dark night, in the infamous Crime Alley, two of Gotham's most prominent citizens were murdered: Doctor Thomas Wayne and his wife, Martha. Though there was a great media sensation around the tragic event, their murderer was never caught. They left behind their son Bruce, who witnessed the crime and swore on their graves to avenge their deaths (eventually becoming known as the Batman).

The murder soon became a symbol of the failure of the justice system. Over the following decades, corruption grew even worse. Drugs, prostitution, and graft skyrocketed. Organized crime embedded itself within the system, being lead at this time by Carmine Falcone, alias The Roman. An honest cop became a rarity. This changed with the arrival of two men: James Gordon