Great Houghton is a former mining village and its mines were served by the railway, which has since gone, but remains are still visible.
The village has a primary school called Sandhill. The old school building that stood on the main street was demolished in 2007 and was replaced with a new Private Finance Initiative primary school.
Some parts of Great Houghton were affected by the 2007 summer flooding, which caused extensive damage in neighbouring villages.