Böckten was first mentioned as "Bettinghofen", which became simplified to "Bettinchon" (first mentioned in 1246), which in turn changed to "Betkon" (first mentioned in 1339). In the Middle Ages Böckten belonged to the earl of Homburg. Its governance changed several times until it came to Basel in 1467. After the establishing of the Gotthard Pass, the "Bischofstein" castle was built and completed in 1311 in order to secure the region. It was destroyed due to the 1356 Basel earthquake, which affected the whole region. It has since then been restored.