Hadera was founded on 24 January 1891, in the early days of modern Zionism by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Latvia on land purchased by Yehoshua Hankin, known as the Redeemer of the Valley.
The land was purchased from a Christian effendi, Selim Khuri.
This was the largest purchase of land in Eretz Israel by a Zionist group, although the land was of low quality and mostly swampland.
The only inhabitants prior to the purchase were a few families raising water buffaloes and selling reeds.
The village was named after Wadi al-Khudeira (Arabic: وادي الخضيرة‎‎‎, lit.
 'the valley of verdure'), as the nearby section of Hadera Stream was known.
Earlier, the whole Hadera Stream had been known as Nahr Akhdar (Arabic: نهر الأخضر‎, lit.
 'green river').

The Crusaders called the location Lictera – a corruption of the Arabic name, el-Khudeira.
From the outset, attempts were made to pick instead a Hebrew name for the new settlement.
About half a year after it was founded, rabbi Ya'akov Goldman reported on an event in "the moshav of Hadere, that is, Hatzor".
The name Liktera was in preferential use by the British military during World War I.
Baron Rothschild's surveyor, Yitzhak Goldhar, claimed that Hadera was founded on the site of the former town called Gedera of Caesarea (Hebrew: גדרה של קיסרין‎), as mentioned in Tosefta Shevi'it, ch.
7.
Benjamin Mazar preferred to locate ancient Gador, formerly known as Gedera by Caesaria, at Tell Ahḍar ("green hill"), later known as Tell esh Sheikh Ziraq and currently as Tel Gador, on the coast south of Giv'at Olga.
Others say that the ancient Gadera should be identified with Umm Qais or with al-Judeira.

The first Jewish settlers lived in a building known as the Khan near Hadera's main synagogue.
The population consisted of ten families and four guards.
Baron Edmond de Rothschild provided funding for Egyptian laborers to drain the swamps.
Old tombstones in the local cemetery reveal that out of a population of 540, 210 died of malaria.
Therefore a Bible verse from the Psalms (Tehillim) was inscribed in the city's logo: "Those who sow in tears, will reap with songs of joy." (
Ps 126:5) Hashomer guards kept watch over the fields to prevent incursions by the neighboring Bedouin.

By the early twentieth century, Hadera had become the regional economic center.
In 1913, the settlement included forty households, as well as fields and vineyards, stretching over 30,000 dunams.
Hadera was founded on 24 January 1891, in the early days of modern Zionism by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Latvia on land purchased by Yehoshua Hankin, known as the Redeemer of the Valley. The land was purchased from a Christian effendi, Selim Khuri. This was the largest purchase of land in Eretz Israel by a Zionist group, although the land was of low quality and mostly swampland. The only inhabitants prior to the purchase were a few families raising water buffaloes and selling reeds. The village was named after Wadi al-Khudeira (Arabic: وادي الخضيرة‎‎‎, lit. 'the valley of verdure'), as the nearby section of Hadera Stream was known. Earlier, the whole Hadera Stream had been known as Nahr Akhdar (Arabic: نهر الأخضر‎, lit. 'green river').
The Crusaders called the location Lictera – a corruption of the Arabic name, el-Khudeira. From the outset, attempts were made to pick instead a Hebrew name for the new settlement. About half a year after it was founded, rabbi Ya'akov Goldman reported on an event in "the moshav of Hadere, that is, Hatzor". The name Liktera was in preferential use by the British military during World War I.
Baron Rothschild's surveyor, Yitzhak Goldhar, claimed that Hadera was founded on the site of the former town called Gedera of Caesarea (Hebrew: גדרה של קיסרין‎), as mentioned in Tosefta Shevi'it, ch. 7. Benjamin Mazar preferred to locate ancient Gador, formerly known as Gedera by Caesaria, at Tell Ahḍar ("green hill"), later known as Tell esh Sheikh Ziraq and currently as Tel Gador, on the coast south of Giv'at Olga. Others say that the ancient Gadera should be identified with Umm Qais or with al-Judeira.
The first Jewish settlers lived in a building known as the Khan near Hadera's main synagogue. The population consisted of ten families and four guards. Baron Edmond de Rothschild provided funding for Egyptian laborers to drain the swamps. Old tombstones in the local cemetery reveal that out of a population of 540, 210 died of malaria. Therefore a Bible verse from the Psalms (Tehillim) was inscribed in the city's logo: "Those who sow in tears, will reap with songs of joy." (Ps 126:5) Hashomer guards kept watch over the fields to prevent incursions by the neighboring Bedouin.
By the early twentieth century, Hadera had become the regional economic center. In 1913, the settlement included forty households, as well as fields and vineyards, stretching over 30,000 dunams.
Hadera