Kyaiklat: History
The town was settled in the 1840s by Mon refugees fleeing war further east. The settlers built a stupa 9 cubits tall close to the riverbed, but flooding and shifting deltaic flows caused the stupas to collapse soon after. The name of the town comes from a Mon phrase "Kyaik Lwoik" (Burmese: ကျိုက်လွိုက်) meaning Pagoda Toppled. The western part of the town was formerly Photaw Hill and was recorded to have several ponds and villages in the vicinity. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War, in 1887, the town was incorporated within the Thongwa District. The town's first mayor, a Mr. Maxwell, was appointed in 1882 by the British.
The late 19th century saw significant population growth as many moved in to farm the newly farmable rich deltaic soil. In the year 1900, a town committee was formed for Kyaiklat, and the municipality was officially incorporated in 1905. The town continued growing in the 20th century and received a high school and a hospital from the now independent Burmese government. As of the 1956 census, the town had a population of 15,790 people. In 2019, it had 24,132 people.