Towards the end of 1902,as the British were establishing their colonial presence, Richard Meinertzhagen marched a strong military column meeting a spirited resistance from the native Kikuyu warriors led by Wangombe Wa Ihura. The Kikuyu, whose spears and arrows were no match for the modern European weaponry unleashed against them, were eventually defeated.

After Meinertzhagen's victory, a decision was reached to site a British post close to a little hill on the slopes of Mt Kenya. The Kikuyu called the hill Kia-Nyiri [Nyeri hill] while their Maasai neighbours called the hill Na-aier. The post took its name from the little hill. Thus, on December 18th 1902, Nyeri was born. Shortly after the establishment of the post, a trickle of European settlers and missionaries and Indian merchants began to migrate into Nyeri and the surrounding areas. The Town soon burgeoned into a trading centre for white settler farmers who produced cattle, wheat and coffee. They also came into town to shop, drink and socialize.

The White Rhino Hotel, Outspan Hotel, and the Aberdare Country Club at nearby Mweiga are relics of those colonial days.