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History · Rockland

Rockland’s post office opened in 1886, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1920.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Rockland began

When was Rockland founded?

1886

The Rockland post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 344 in 19202020 census: 242140 years
Founding year: the first Rockland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Rockland’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 Rockland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Rockland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockland.

Read it all →

Rockland claims its founding in 1879, 11 years before Idaho achieved its statehood in 1890. The Rockland Valley was traveled by trappers before its founding, but its first permanent settlers entered the valley in 1878. At that time, Hidalgo Guadelupe Valdez herded his cattle into the valley and chose the valley as his home. In efforts to establish his home he dug a ditch from the East Fork Creek as means to irrigate his 30 acres of land. Thus, he was granted his "Water Right" on Feb. 15, 1879. Not only was he the first settler in the valley, but also the first irrigated farmer in the valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Rockland, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Western Rattlesnake2013Western RattlesnakeIDMap-doton-Rockland2004IDMap-doton-Rockland
On the map

Rockland on the map, 1934 to 1971

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

Rockland on the 1934 USGS mapRockland on the 1971 USGS map1934Rockland 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 Rockland.

People over time

Rockland, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 374

Between 209 and 374 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rockland

Nobody well known was born in Rockland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kayla BarronAmerican astronaut · b. 1987
Gloria DicksonAmerican actress · b. 1917
C
Colin JoyceAmerican bicycle racer · b. 1994
B
Billie BirdAmerican actress · b. 1908
Edward StevensonAmerican costume designer · b. 1906
R
Richard G. ScottAmerican Mormon leader · b. 1928

Questions about Rockland’s history

What year was Rockland founded?

The Rockland post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.