Founded in 1612 by Thakur Saheb Vibhaji Ajoji Jadeja of Jadeja clan. Vibhaji was grandson of Jam Sataji of Nawanagar, present day Jamnagar. During British Rule, it was a regional headquarter (Residency).
It has been seat of Jadeja Clan (Rajkot Branch) since then.
Mahatma Gandhi, great Indian Leader, Father of the Nation and a thinker who is adored in India, spent his early years in Rajkot when his father was a Diwan to one of the Saurastra Nawab, and the house where Gandhi lived is now a museum named Kaba Gandhi No Delo. He went to school in here (Alfred High School, now known as Mahatma Gandhi High School).