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Rdale welcomesign2Photo: Soulpatroller · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHistory
History · Robertsdale

Robertsdale’s post office opened in 1905

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #152 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Robertsdale was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1930.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Robertsdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Robertsdale began

When was Robertsdale founded?

1905

The Robertsdale post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 678 in 19302020 census: 6,708121 years

How historic is Robertsdale?

D

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Robertsdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Robertsdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Robertsdale is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #152 of 187 in Alabama. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Robertsdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 10%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 19%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Robertsdale’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Robertsdale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19203 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1980. Watch Robertsdale change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Robertsdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Robertsdale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPulpwood going down the River Styx to M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Robertsdale on the map, 1920 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Robertsdale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Robertsdale on the 1920 USGS mapRobertsdale on the 1941 USGS mapRobertsdale on the 1980 USGS map1920Robertsdale sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Robertsdale.

The story so far

Robertsdale, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Robertsdale yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Robertsdale is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, which includes the community of Rosinton. At the 2020 census, the population was 6,708. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,276 to 6,708 (+27%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Robertsdale, 1905 to 1937

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Robertsdale post office opens
  3. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1933Born hereJoe Childress is born here
  5. 1937In the archivePulpwood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inland waterway. Near Robertsdale, Alabama
By decade

Robertsdale, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Pulpwood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inland waterway. Near Robertsdale, Alabama1937Pulpwood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inlan…Pulp wood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inland waterway near Robertsdale, Alabama1937Pulp wood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inla…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Lee Shaffer, Air Force pararescue functional manager, center, greets students from Ros…2011U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Lee Shaffer, Air For…Supporters cheer on special tactics airmen 111025-F-PV498-0262011Supporters cheer on special tactics airmen 111025-F-P…Rdale welcomesign22010Rdale welcomesign2
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pulpwood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inland waterway. Near Robertsdale, Alabama
Retake this viewPulpwood going down the River Styx to Mobile by inland waterway. Near Robertsdale, Alabama, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Robertsdale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Robertsdale, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,500194019601980200020206,708

Grew from 678 people in 1930 to 6,708 in 2020, 9 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Robertsdale’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Robertsdale’s post office has been open since 1905.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carlees Mobile Home Court

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

SummerdaleIts storyD

Questions about Robertsdale’s history

What year was Robertsdale founded?

The Robertsdale post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Robertsdale rank for history?

Robertsdale is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #152 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Robertsdale?

4% of Robertsdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 2000.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.