Nybro was founded as a rest area for travellers on the road between Växjö in the west and Kalmar in the east. In the 18th century a new bridge was built where the road crossed a stream and it was hence called Nybron, The New Bridge. A small tavern called Lortkrogen (literally the Filth Tavern) opened there. The market town was founded in the 19th century, but it rapidly transformed into an industrial town. In 1865 the town became a municipality separately from Madesjö. It was granted city rights in 1932.
