Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 135 buildings. Below: old-book passages.
The Roachdale post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Langsdale (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roachdale’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Roachdale.
Roachdale was platted in 1879, and named for Judge Roach, a railroad official. A post office has been in operation at Roachdale since 1880. Roachdale was incorporated in 1882 when the railroad was extended to that point.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Roachdale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The town of Roachdale, located in the northeastern part of the township, is the latest accession to the list of towns in the county. It was incorporated shortly after the completion of the Indianapolis, Decatur & Springfield railroad, March 25, 1882. As the latter road crossed the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago railroad at this point, the town naturally experienced a very rapid growth, and has steadily held its own ever since. Its first town officers consisted of the following: John W. Hargrave, Sam B. Sweeney, Justice M. Ghormly, trustees; Samuel J. Hennon, clerk, John H. Grantham,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
years later, and before the close of the war. he succeeiled in escaping from the prison and was never seen or heard from afterwards. About nineteen years ago his brother Noah was tried and convicted on the charge of having killed Erastus R. Adams, in the town of Roachdale. He was also given a life sentence, and died while in prison at Michigan City.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Roachdale’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Langsdale, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Roachdale post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Roachdale Historic District (listed 2020).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.