History of Mahabaleshwar
The history of Mahabaleshwar dates back to 1215 when King Singhan of Deogiri visited it. The entire area flourished during 1350 when it was taken over by a Brahmin dynasty. During 16th century, Mahabaleshwar was captured by the Maratha family of Chandarao More who gifted the famous Mahabaleshwar Temple. In 1656, it was the great Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who after defeating Jaoli built the famous Pratapgarh Fort. Then came the turn of the Peshwas who ruled this place till the year 1819 and after that Mahabaleshwar got included in the territory of the Raja of Satara.
In the history of Mahabaleshwar, the name of Colonel Lodwick is written in golden letters. Mahabaleshwar owes a lot to this British who is believed to have 'discovered' this lovely hill station and brought a considerable amount of focus to it. The second most popular name that occupies an important place in the history of this hill station is Sir John Malcolm. In 1828, Boy Malcolm, as he was fondly called set up a sanatorium for the sick and a resort for the people.And this new town was originally came to be known as 'Malcolmpeth'. It was Sir John Malcom who laid the foundation of Mahabaleshwar. What followed after that was a series of visitors right from Arthur, Carnac, Frere and several others who frequented this place regularly. The important points in Mahabaleshwar are named after them.