To the best of our knowledge, Alaçatı's historical record goes back to 1850. At that time, the Ottomans brought workers from the Greek Islands to dry the marshes that had been the source of malaria.

Making use of land given by the local Turks, these Greek workers established vineyards, developed the winemaking profession and chose not to return to the Islands. They later established a grape processing facility and winery at the Alaçatı Harbor and began exporting raisins and wine.

In 1914, a number of those fleeing from the Balkan War came to Alaçatı. As the story goes, when the Greeks in the region saw the ship carrying these immigrants in the Alaçat› Harbor, they immediately fled to Chios Island across from Çeşme in small boats, some even leaving their loaded carts on the road.

Immigrants from Thessaloniki, Bosnia and Albania arrived during the population exchange of 1924. Because the newly arrived immigrants knew nothing about vineyard agriculture, they established tobacco plantations and began to breed animals. In time, the vineyards disappeared. The tobacco industry also disappeared after 1980. In fact, agriculture is hardly evident in the Alaçatı area today. In any case, today throughout the world, the mastic tree is only grown on Chios Island and in Alaçatı.