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B−History
History · Roswell

Roswell’s post office opened in 1846, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #109 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Roswell was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 34 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1870.

1846first post office
6on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roswell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roswell began

When was Roswell founded?

1846

The Roswell post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1854. Two smaller post offices, Arnold (1883) and Lebanon (1894), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 479 in 18702020 census: 92,833180 years

How historic is Roswell?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Roswell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1854.
History grade

What drives Roswell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roswell is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #109 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roswell’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.4) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register6 listings, 37 historic buildings, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 59%

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Roswell’s 4.0 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1854.

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 Roswell’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Roswell, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Roswell Historic District takes in 28 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Roswell’s post office has been open since 1846. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Roswell
1846–today
Arnold
1883–1903
Lebanon
1894–1904
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arnold MillBoulder CreekBrookfield WestGreenwayHighland ColonyHorseshoe BendLake VillasLitchfield HundredNorth PointRoswell OaksSweet Apple CrossingWildwood Springs
Gone or out of use
Holcomb FerrycrossingJett FerrycrossingMartins Ferrycrossing
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Roswell
EbenezerFounderGreen Lawn Cemetery and MausoleumLebanonOld RoswellPleasant Hill

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

Help out

Start Roswell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roswell’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 viewHABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bul…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

6 listings protect 37 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Bulloch Hall
Bulloch Hall, built 1836Barrington Hall, built 1842Roswell Historic DistrictThorton BuildingArchibald Smith House, built 1845Methodist Cemetery
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival3
Late Georgian Neoclassical1
Ultra Modern1
Georgian House1
Bulloch HallGreek Revival · Built 1836
Barrington HallGreek Revival · Built 1842
Roswell Historic DistrictLate Georgian Neoclassical
Thorton BuildingUltra Modern
Archibald Smith HouseGeorgian House · Built 1845
All 6 listings
Methodist CemeterySite · listed 2021

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

The story so far

Roswell, in brief

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

Roswell is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States. At the official 2020 census, the city had a population of 92,883, making Roswell the state's ninth largest city. A suburb of Atlanta, Roswell has an affluent National Register Historic District.

Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 88,346 to 92,833 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Roswell, 1836 to 2005

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836BuiltBulloch Hall is built
  3. 1842BuiltBarrington Hall is built
  4. 1845BuiltArchibald Smith House is built
  5. 1846Post officeThe Roswell post office opens
  6. 1883Post officeThe Arnold post office opens
  7. 1894Post officeThe Lebanon post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Post officeThe Arnold post office closes
  10. 1904Post officeThe Lebanon post office closes
  11. 1933In the archiveHABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bulloch Hall
  12. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1964Born hereDavid Cross is born here
  14. 1986Born hereTyler Flowers is born here
  15. 1998Born hereXavier McKinney is born here
  16. 21st century
  17. 2005Born hereSunny Suljic is born here
By decade

Roswell, decade by decade

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

1930s2 items
HABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bulloch Hall1933HABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bulloch HallHABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bulloch Hall1933HABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bulloch Hall
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
Today1 recent
River park, fulton county, georgia2005River park, fulton county, georgia
On the map

Roswell on the map, 1956 to 1992

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

Roswell on the 1956 USGS mapRoswell on the 1968 USGS mapRoswell on the 1973 USGS mapRoswell on the 1985 USGS mapRoswell on the 1992 USGS map1956Roswell 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 Roswell.

Every building

Roswell, building by building, 1911

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 sheet.

Roswell fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

HABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bulloch Hall
Retake this viewHABS GA,61-ROSW,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bulloch Hall, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Roswell, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,0001880190019201940196019802000202092,833

Grew from 479 people in 1870 to 92,833 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Roswell

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

See all →
David CrossAmerican stand-up comedian and actor · b. 1964
Sunny SuljicAmerican actor · b. 2005
Tyler FlowersAmerican baseball player · b. 1986
Xavier McKinneyAmerican football player · b. 1998
D
Delilah S. DawsonAmerican author · b. 1977
Chris ReisPlayer of American football · b. 1983
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Alpharetta1 historic placeC−MiltonIts storyD−Sandy Springs2 historic placesDJohns Creek1 historic placeDMountain ParkIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Roswell’s history

What year was Roswell founded?

The Roswell post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1854.

How does Roswell rank for history?

Roswell is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #109 of 263 in Georgia. 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 Roswell?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Bulloch Hall (listed 1971, the first), 2 historic districts, the Roswell Historic District and the Archibald Smith House, with 34 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 37 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Roswell?

0.7% of Roswell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.