Pljos became widely known thanks to the works of the great Russian landscape painter Isaak Levitan.

The fortified town with this name is first mentioned in 1141 in the Novgorod Chronicle. It is described as a large medieval city with two-kilometre-long rows of trade and crafts in two storeys along the river. Its founder is considered to be the Grand Duke of Moscow, Vasily Dmitrievich. A monument was erected in his honour for the 500th anniversary.

However, Pljos was destroyed during the invasion of the Horde in Russia in 1237-38. The town was only rebuilt nearly two centuries later. The fortress had strategic importance — it became part of a unified customs and defense system on the Volga to control the main road of Russia — the Volga. Furthermore, Pljos played an important role in the unification of the principalities under the banner of the unified Moscow principality.

In the late 18th century, Pljos was the third most common centre for the production of linen fabrics after Kostroma and Nerechta. During this time, the first stone houses were built for two merchants at the western and eastern ends of the promenade. These buildings established the principle of symmetry for future development. In the first half of the 19th century, stone churches were built in Pljos.

In the 1850s, the merchant class reached its peak. Linen production was replaced by trade in timber, bread, and cotton fabrics. The merchants who became wealthy through this trade built stone houses. By the 1870s, Pljos had acquired the architectural appearance that has largely been preserved to this day.

Many old churches have remained in Pljos, shaping the architectural landscape of the town.