Prior to 1914, the area where Boyle now sits was largely unsettled wilderness. The community's establishment was catalyzed by the arrival of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway (A&GW). As the railway pushed northward toward the Athabasca River and McMurray, a siding and settlement hub took root, leading to the official founding of the post office on February 15, 1916.

The community was named in honor of John Robert Boyle (1871–1936), an influential early Alberta politician who served as the province's Minister of Education and Attorney General, and later as a judge on the Supreme Court of Alberta.

Following the railway's arrival, the surrounding parkland and boreal transition zone drew homesteaders seeking fertile land. The local economy grew primarily through grain farming, livestock, and lumbering. As the population grew due to expanding regional farming, forestry, and local commerce, Boyle transitioned from a localized railway settlement into an organized municipality, officially incorporating as a Village on December 31, 1953.