The city of Dale was founded in T.A. 2590. It was settled near the mountain of Erebor, which was settled by the Dwarves in the same year. The city was destroyed by the Dragon Smaug in 2770. 

History

? - T.A. 2590: Before the Founding

Before the founding of the city, the Dale itself was occupied by dozens of small villages and hamlets, organized around small clans ruled by elected chiefs. Ancient traditions and laws, passed down both through tale and through the carved runestones that dotted the landscape, governed life in the area. These included the Rites of the Free People, though there were many variations in law and tradition. 

In T.A. 2489, the Easterlings drove many of the Northmen south of the Dale north, wreaking havoc and causing great destruction in the area. Many small settlements were burnt, and hundreds enslaved.