It was part of the small province of Gohelle, itself part of the province of Artois, and was mainly an agricultural town with associated small activities incidental to farming, such as flour mills, sugar mills and breweries.
The name was transformed from Noewe to Nœux-lez-Béthune over the years, but became Nœux-les-Mines in 1887, a few years after the discovery of coal deposits in 1850, when the population numbered a mere 1100 inhabitants.