Major efforts at settlement began with the Queensbury Patent in 1762, which enticed Quaker settlers to move into the area known as the "Township of Queensbury" the next year. The Quakers left during the Revolutionary War and returned in 1783 when hostilities ended in the area.

In 1786, the town was re-established as the town of Queensbury. In 1788, the town included all of what is today Warren County. It lost territory in 1792 when the town of Fairfield (Lake Luzerne) was formed and again in 1810 to form part of the town of Caldwell (Lake George). In 1908, the then largest village within Queensbury, Glens Falls, incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality. The town of Queensbury surpasses the city of Glens Falls in population.

Queensbury is a town of the first class and as such has a town board with a town supervisor and four councilmen. The town established a ward system in 1985, whereby the town was divided into four wards. While the supervisor is elected by the entire town electorate, each councilman is elected by only the electorate of the ward he or she will be representing. The town also has an ethics board, planning board, and zoning board of appeals. At the county level, Queensbury is entitled to five of the 20 seats on the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Glens Falls also gets five seats, whereas the remaining ten towns in the county receive one seat each.

The town of Queensbury falls within four public school districts:

• Glens Falls City School District
• Hudson Falls Central School District
• Lake George Central School District
• Queensbury Union Free School District

Also, the Adirondack Community College is located here which is a part of the SUNY system.

• Assembly Point – A hamlet located on a peninsula by the same name.
• Brayton – A hamlet in the northeastern part of town.
• Cleverdale – A hamlet located on Ripley Point, a peninsula.
• East Lake George – A hamlet in the northern part of the town and including part of the town of Fort Ann. The hamlet has been attempting to incorporate into a village since 2005.
• Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (GFL) – An airport, also known as the Warren County Airport, in the southeastern part of the town.
• French Mountain – A hamlet northwest of Glen Lake that shares its name with the mountain to its northeast.
• Glen Lake – A lake and hamlet north of Glens Falls North.
• Glens Falls North – a census-designated place along the northern border of Glens Falls.
• Harrisena – A hamlet roughly following State Route 9L in the northern section of the town which borders Lake George. Granted to American Revolutionary War spy Moses Harris for his service in the war.
• Jenkinsville – A hamlet located in the east part of the town near the Queensbury-Kingsbury-Fort Ann town lines. Denoted on some maps as "Queensbury".
• Kattskill Bay – A hamlet in the northeastern-most area of the town.
• Lake Sunnyside – A small lake and hamlet in the east-central portion of the town.
• Oneida Corners – A hamlet at the modern junction of Sunnyside Road and State Route 9L.
• Paradise Beach – A hamlet in the vicinity of The Great Escape and Round Pond on County Route 17.
• Rockhurst – A hamlet in the vicinity of Sheldon Point, a peninsula.
• West Glens Falls – A hamlet and census-designated place bordering the west side of the city of Glens Falls.
• Other hamlets: South Queensbury, Top O' the World, West Mountain