Houten took shape as a rural centre. The area of the municipality of Houten was divided in the so-called gerechten ("districts"), the names of which are still in use: Schonauwen, Wulven, Waijen, Heemstede.

Many elements of present-day Houten are remnants of its history. Prominent in the old centre (Het Oude Dorp, "The Old Town") are the Roman Catholic Church (1884) and the Protestant Church (1563). The first accounts of the older church date from the ninth century; the oldest parts of the present church building are probably from the