Once a prehistiric habitation area,

Once a prehistiric habitation area, a number of stone tools and artifacts form the neolithic Age were discovered during surveys at several archaeological sites in chanthaburi;namely,Amphoe Makham, Amphoe tha Mai and a hillside plain at ban khlong bon in Amphoe pong Nam Ron. Chong was the first Mon-khmer huntinggathering community to have settled in the eastern forests in what are now Chanthaburi, Trat and Rayong provinces in ca. The 13th century A.D. The first settlement in Chanthaburi was near Khao Sa Bap. The forest area,especially on the boundary between Chanthaburi and Trat, was abundant in herbs and forest products such as gamboge, lac, wax, cardamom, eaglewood, rattan, cinnamon, etc. Deforestation for cultivation as well as habitation by Thai and Chinese people has shrunken the forest. Hunting and gathering has been made illegal, so the huntergatherers were forced to change their lifestyle and become urban laborers or farmers
Most of the 'chong' now live at Ban khlong Phlu in Amphoe khao khitchakut. A new city was established in 1657 A.D. At Ban Lum on the west bank of the Chanthaburi Rever. At the fall of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1767 A.D. King Taksin the Great, then Phraya Wachiraprakan, led a troop of some 500 soldiers to break through and head eastward to occupy Chanthaburi He took 5 monts to store foodstuffs and recruit a troop of 5,000 Thai and Chinese soldiers to regain the independence of the kingdom. Monuments and memorials built to commemorate the historic event well reflect the pride of the people of Chanthaburi.