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B+History
History · Rochelle

Rochelle’s post office opened in 1865, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #283 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 43 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1865first post office
4on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rochelle’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rochelle began

When was Rochelle founded?

1865

The Rochelle post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Story (1850) and Lane Depot (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,893 in 18802020 census: 9,446161 years

How historic is Rochelle?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Rochelle’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rochelle is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #283 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rochelle’s overall grade.
Founding era1865, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.7% of homes (±3.6) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 46 historic buildings, 48.3 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 63%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rochelle’s 48.3 sits above most of its state (91% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Rochelle’s past

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

A historic districtThe Rochelle Downtown Historic District takes in 43 historic buildings.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1915–1942.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Rochelle, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 46 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
46
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Flagg Township Public Library
Flagg Township Public Library, built 1912William H. Holcomb HouseCity and Town HallRochelle Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Sullivanesque1
Victorian Italianate1
Italianate1
Flagg Township Public LibrarySullivanesque · Built 1912
William H. Holcomb HouseVictorian Italianate
City and Town HallItalianate
All 4 listings
Rochelle Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2018

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

By decade

Rochelle, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s17 items
Collier Inn (NBY 9570)c. 1915Collier Inn (NBY 9570)Merry go round by Ethel Spears1939Merry go round by Ethel SpearsA skilled and vastly important job in this Rochelle, Illinois 8b07411v1942A skilled and vastly important job in this Rochelle, …Food to make America strong. 8b09752v1942Food to make America strong. 8b09752vThese women harvest hands in Rochelle, Illinois, are helping the national welfare by picking the summer asparagus crop1942These women harvest hands in Rochelle, Illinois, are …Why tin cans should be saved 8b09753v1942Why tin cans should be saved 8b09753vWomen in war. Agricultural workers 8b09746v1942Women in war. Agricultural workers 8b09746vWomen in war. Agricultural workers 8b09747v1942Women in war. Agricultural workers 8b09747vWomen in war. Agricultural workers 8b09748v1942Women in war. Agricultural workers 8b09748vWomen in war. Agricultural workers 8b09749v1942Women in war. Agricultural workers 8b09749vWomen in war. Agricultural workers 8b09750v1942Women in war. Agricultural workers 8b09750vWomen in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make America strong. Women near Rochelle, Illinois, many of them schoolte…1942Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make Am…Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make America strong. Women near Rochelle, Illinois, many of them schoolte…1942Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make Am…Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make America strong. Women near Rochelle, Illinois, many of them schoolte…1942Women in war. Summer canning workers. Food to make Am…Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's manpower swelling the ranks of the armed forces, women must step …1942Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's…Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's manpower swelling the ranks of the armed forces, women must step …1942Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's…Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's manpower swelling the ranks of the armed forces, women must step …1942Women in war. Agricultural workers. With the nation's…
1950s–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
Places that used to be

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

Rochelle’s post office has been open since 1865. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Story
1850–1854
Lane Depot
1854–1865
Rochelle
1865–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Askvig Addition
Gone or out of use
O'Neill Quarrymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rochelle
LawnridgeSaint Patrick Catholic

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

The story

How Rochelle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rochelle.

Read it all →

Originally named "Lane", the town sits at the intersection of two rail lines, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Union Pacific. Having a number of granaries holding corn, wheat and other crops for shipping eastward, the town was an important rail link for farmers.

After World War II, Rochelle grew, becoming a center for Swift Meat Packing and Del Monte canned vegetables such as asparagus, corn, green beans, and peas.

The community is home to the popular Rochelle Railroad Park where visitors from across the country come to watch passing trains at the intersection of the BNSF and Union Pacific Railroads.

On April 9, 2015, parts of the city suffered damage when an EF4 tornado struck near the outskirts of the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Rochelle in 1900

Passages that mention Rochelle, cut from the printed page as they were published.

people was that of the Ogle & Carroll County Railroad Company which was incorporated in 1857 by the General Assembly of Illinois. Section two authorized the company to " locate, construct and complete, maintain and operate a railroad from the town of Lane (now Rochelle), in the county of Ogle, to t…
Mount Morris1900 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text

people was that of the Ogle & Carroll County Railroad Company which was incorporated in 1857 by the General Assembly of Illinois. Section two authorized the company to " locate, construct and complete, maintain and operate a railroad from the town of Lane (now Rochelle), in the county of Ogle, to the town of Oregon in same county: from thence to the town of Mount Morris: from thence on the most eligible and direct route to or near the town of Mt. Carroll, in the county of Carroll; from thence to the Mississippi river." The company was also empowered to construct said

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
people was that of the Ogle & Carroll County Railroad Company which was incorporated in 1857 by the General Assembly of Illinois. Section two authorized the company to " locate, construct and complete, maintain and operate a railroad from the town of Lane (now Rochelle), in the county of Ogle, to t…
Mount Morris1900 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text

people was that of the Ogle & Carroll County Railroad Company which was incorporated in 1857 by the General Assembly of Illinois. Section two authorized the company to " locate, construct and complete, maintain and operate a railroad from the town of Lane (now Rochelle), in the county of Ogle, to the town of Oregon in same county; from thence to the town of Mount Morris; from thence on the most eligible and direct route to or near the town of Mt. Carroll, in the county of Carroll; from thence to the Mississippi river." The company was also empowered to construct said

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

Rochelle, 1850 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Story post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe Story post office closes
  4. 1854Post officeThe Lane Depot post office opens
  5. 1862Born hereJoanna Baker is born here
  6. 1865Post officeThe Lane Depot post office closes
  7. 1865Post officeThe Rochelle post office opens
  8. 1874Born hereLloyd Ingraham is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1912BuiltFlagg Township Public Library is built
  11. 1915In the archiveCollier Inn (NBY 9570)
  12. 1922Born herePaul R. Lawrence is born here
  13. 1939In the archiveMerry go round by Ethel Spears
  14. 1942In the archiveA skilled and vastly important job in this Rochelle, Illinois 8b07411v
  15. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1956Born hereJoan Allen is born here
On the map

Rochelle on the map, 1952 to 1993

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

Rochelle on the 1952 USGS mapRochelle on the 1975 USGS mapRochelle on the 1993 USGS map1952Rochelle 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 Rochelle.

Every building

Rochelle, building by building, 1886

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.

Rochelle fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 21886Sheet 2 of 3
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.

Collier Inn (NBY 9570)
Retake this viewCollier Inn (NBY 9570), c. 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Rochelle, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,574

Between 1,789 and 9,574 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Rochelle

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

See all →
J
Joan AllenAmerican actress · b. 1956
Lloyd IngrahamActor, film director · b. 1874
P
Paul R. LawrenceAmerican business theorist · b. 1922
Joanna BakerAmerican linguist and child prodigy · b. 1862
Ralph BakerAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1902
D
Daniel Van KirkComedian
Help out

Finish Rochelle’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCollier Inn (NBY 9570): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Flagg Township4 historic placesBHillcrestIts storyDDement TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Rochelle’s history

What year was Rochelle founded?

The Rochelle post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Rochelle rank for history?

Rochelle is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #283 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Rochelle?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Flagg Township Public Library (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Rochelle Downtown Historic District, with 43 contributing buildings. 46 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Rochelle?

13% of Rochelle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.