When Emperor Franz I was living at Schloss Heusenstamm in 1764 on the occasion of his son's coronation (Goethe relates the event in his Dichtung und Wahrheit), an ostentatious tower was built in his honour, which stands to this day.
On 26 May 1959, Heusenstamm was granted town rights, thereby sidestepping Offenbach's efforts to absorb the community.