Barisal is an alluvial deposit, but the date of its formation is not known.
The Finance Minister to the Emperor Akbar, Todar Mal's settlement took place in 1582, when the greater part of the Barisal area appears to have been included for the first time in the ancient Zamindari or Pargana of Chandradwip, which belonged to the Sarker Bakla, also called Ismailpur.