Historically the local economy was based on raising crops on the valley floor, seasonal alpine herding and transporting timber down the Emme River. The Bubenalp alpine meadow appears in a record in 1281, earlier than the village itself. By the 15th century, much of the mountain forest had been cleared to provide pastures for cattle. A small glass factory opened in the village in 1720, but was overshadowed by the larger factory in Entlebuch. Following the 1798 French invasion, Schangnau became part of the Helvetic Republic district of Oberemmental. With the collapse of the Republic and the 1803 Act of Mediation it became part of the Signau district, where it remained until the district was dissolved in 2009.