Roseville’s post office opened in 1864, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #282 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Roseville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listings are the Haman House, the Carnegie Library and the Fiddyment Ranch Main Complex. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Roseville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roseville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roseville is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #282 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roseville’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Roseville ranks #284 on History.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Roseville’s 0.2 sits above most of its state (65% of California towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Roseville’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Roseville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Roseville on the map, 1910 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Roseville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Roseville sheet · 1:31,680
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roseville.
The Nisenan lived in the land that became Roseville for over 2,000 years before modern settlers moved in. The settlement developed around a stage coach station called Griders. According to the Roseville Historical Society, in 1864 the Central Pacific Railroad tracks were constructed northeastward from Sacramento as part of the transcontinental railroad. The point where the tracks met the California Central Railroad line was named "Junction". Junction eventually became known as Roseville.
Passages that mention Roseville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Placer county, California1882 · page 246Read the page →
Read the text
The western part of the properly is intersected for a distance of four miles and a half by the Oregon Division of the Central Pacific Railroad in its route from Lincoln to Roseville, while the eastern boundary extends to the Central Pacific Railroad at Rocklin. The property occupies in Placer County that particular locality where the lower foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada range of mountains mingle and glide
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
pleted to Lineoln October 31 1861, and the passenthe freight vf the two former counties, pissed over ıt Phe construction of the Cential Pacific Railtond in 1863 to Roseville deatioy ed the usefulness of that poition of the California Cential extending (о Folsow, nd business on il eeased Tho section пот [aneoln to Marysville was not completed until 1869, toen undei the namo of the Yuba Railroad Company,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Roseville, 1864 to 1983
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Roseville post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roseville rank for history?
Roseville is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #282 of 847 in California. 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.
What is on the National Register in Roseville?
Three places: the Haman House (listed 1976), the Carnegie Library (2009) and the Fiddyment Ranch Main Complex (2010).
How old are the homes in Roseville?
2% of Roseville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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