The land on which the suburb now stands was purchased in 1853 by Alfred Watts and Philip Levi. They laid out the Village of Croydon in 1855, comprising Croydon Farm of and lots of up to. The village may have been named for Croydon, England, then a part of Surrey, the same county in which Levi had been born. In 1904, market gardener and greengrocer John Brooker founded a jams and conserves business on Queen Street, producing "Croydon" branded products. The business prospered, leading to the construction of the Croydon Jam Factoryon the corner of Queen Street and Princes Street in 1945. However production was soon moved to Woodville North in 1951. The Croydon factory became a warehouse for Godfreys Ltd., a whitegoods retailer. One of Croydon’s first farm barns, later converted into a home in the 1920’s exists far into a lot on Bedford Street, Croydon, a true example of a Brick and Stone building, proving Croydon’s true history. This Original Barn, now renovated into a family home is believed to have been built by Richard Day who developed the suburb some 100 odd years ago. Richard Day, founder of Croydon, South Australia. Developed his own Huge Villa cottage on the site of 14 St Lawrence Ave in Croydon, it was demolished around the time of 1970 and a retirement village was built. A long dusty driveway starting from south road led to this Cottage. The original barn of this home still remains on Bedford St, Croydon. At this time, croydon was mainly farmland.
The 2016 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 1,238 persons in Croydon on census night. Of these, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female. The majority of residents are of Australian birth, with other common census responses being Italy, Greece, England, India and Vietnam. Additionally, Aboriginals and/or Torres Strait Islanders contributed to 1.8% of the suburb's population. The age distribution of Croydon residents is similar to that of the greater Australian population. 68.5% of residents were over 25 years in 2016, compared to the Australian average of 68.5%; and 31.5% were younger than 25 years, compared to the Australian average of 31.5%. In terms of religious affiliation, 33.7% of Croydon residents state that they were irreligious in 2016, 25.5% stated that they were Catholic, 14.5% stated they were Eastern Orthodox, and 4.4% attributed themselves to being Anglican. Within Croydon, 86.2% of the residents were employed, with 7.9% being unemployed and 5.8% away from work.
On Elizabeth Street, there are cafes, a bakery, a French Creperie, hairdressers and retro clothing & homewares homewares, skincare products, clothing boutique, photographic studio The Soul Healing Space, Human Health Chiropractic and Croydon Bookstore. Billy's Table also opens in the evening serving pizza from its wood oven and is licensed. This section of Elizabeth Street is commonly referred to as Queen Street, and some of the names of the shops refer to Queen Street. On Queen Street proper there is also a hairdresser, a pilates studio, Queen Street Dental and a children's party venue, which is situated in the former Croydon Jam Factory. On Port Road is a warehouse shopping complex with large parking space including Officeworks, a gym, Vinnies Croydon, The Salvation Army Superstore and Godfreys Superstore.
Parks
Two parks are located on Day Terrace beside Croydon railway station. These two parks are known as Croydon Train park and Croydon playground reserve.
A free street music festival is held annually on Elizabeth Street, supported by the Charles Sturt Council. This was last held on Friday the 6th of April 2019, hosted the local bands Dead Roo, Last Days of Kali, Rex Wonderful & the Silk Sheets, Blush response and David Blumberg & the Maraby Band.
Transportation
Roads
Croydon is bordered by three major Adelaide roads. Torrens Road to its north-east, South Road, to its east-south-east, Port Road to its south-west and Ellen/Minnie Streets to its north-west. Day Terrace in Croydon, which runs parallel to the Outer Harbor/Grange Train Line is part of the Outer Harbor Greenway, a bicycle route, which provides a family friendly bicycle path from the City of Adelaide to Outer Harbor via Port Adelaide.
