According to records contained in the British India Library Office, a written account dating to 1845 states that the town accommodated 250 houses and had a population of roughly 1,000. It was said to be located 10 miles away from one of Qatar's then-primary pearling villages, Al Bidda. The records also stated that the town's original inhabitants were migrants from Al Bidda. Al Wakrah was described as "independent of Bidda and other towns; and as thriving and more cheerful in appearance than Bidda, to which it was equal in size".