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History · Roberta

Roberta’s post office opened in 1890, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 74 buildings. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Roberta began

When was Roberta founded?

1890

The Roberta post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 252 in 19002020 census: 813136 years
Founding year: the first Roberta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Roberta’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Roberta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Roberta Historic District takes in 74 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roberta’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 74 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
74
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Roberta Historic District
Roberta Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Eclectic1
Colonial Revival1
Commercial Style1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Roberta Historic DistrictVictorian Eclectic

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Roberta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roberta.

Read it all →

In the early nineteenth century, Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins built his plantation on the Flint River near Roberta. This was also a trading post and the Creek Agency.

Originally in Crawford County, Knoxville was the only stop in the county, until the A&F Railroad bypassed it by about a mile to the southwest when it was built in 1888. A train station was built, and a new town sprang up. People migrated towards this new town, called "New Knoxville."

ChaptersCreek AgencyNew KnoxvilleRise and demise

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Roberta, 1890 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Roberta post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1964Born hereKenny Walker is born here
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1982Born hereMeiko is born here
By decade

Roberta, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Untitled photo2017Untitled photoUGA Extension2014UGA ExtensionRoberta Post Office2014Roberta Post OfficeRoberta Inn, Georgia SR72014Roberta Inn, Georgia SR7Roberta EMS building2014Roberta EMS buildingRoberta City Hall2014Roberta City HallGeorgia SR7 US80, Intersection2014Georgia SR7 US80, IntersectionBenjamin Hawkins Monument2014Benjamin Hawkins MonumentDowntownRoberaGeorgia2012DowntownRoberaGeorgiaFEMA - 28968 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 03-09-2007 in Georgia2007FEMA - 28968 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 03-0…GAMap-doton-Roberta2005GAMap-doton-Roberta
On the map

Roberta on the map, 1971 to 1985

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

Roberta on the 1971 USGS mapRoberta on the 1985 USGS map1971Roberta sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Roberta, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,007

Between 227 and 1,007 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Roberta

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
MeikoAmerican singer/songwriter · b. 1982
Kenny WalkerAmerican basketball player · b. 1964
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Knoxville3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Roberta’s history

What year was Roberta founded?

The Roberta post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Roberta?

One place: the Roberta Historic District (listed 1989).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.