Picton developed when a new line of the Great South Road was cut over the Razorback Range from Camden, and especially after the railway arrived in 1863. Picton is the only town in the Southern Hemisphere that one can pass through twice (see Picton railway station) when travelling by train. It was established as "Stonequarry" in 1841 and was renamed Picton in 1845. It remained a stopping point on the Great South Road, later renamed the Hume Highway, until it was bypassed in December 1980.