Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rossville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rossville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rossville’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rossville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1832.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Rossville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that is now Rossville was originally inhabited by the Miami Indians. The first settlers arrived in 1828.
In 1832, Gaige Wagner, with his wife Johanna Wallace and infant child Salmon, settled on 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land north of what is now Main Street in Rossville. In 1834, Ewing and Thomas Smith platted the town of Rossville with the intention of starting a blacksmith shop at the location. The town grew steadily and gained a store operated by William Seawright, a saddler (John H. Smith) and a physician (Dr. James Wilson). Residents of Rossville are also referred to as "Rossvillians".
Passages that mention Rossville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Clinton County, Indiana. Together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens. Also a condensed hist1886 · page 828Read the page →
Read the text
The Methodist Episcopal was the first church organization in the township, and was founded in 1831. They worshiped in various places until 1837, when they built a church in Rossville. Among the members most prominent in its organization were* Andrew and Hannah Waymire, William David, Thomas and Ann Smith, Jacob and Amy Saylor, Mary, Elizabeth and Kebecca Quick.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Clinton County, Indiana. Together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens. Also a condensed hist1886 · page 844Read the page →
Read the text
when in July of the same year he came to Clinton County, Indiana, being persuaded to change his location by his brother William. He first settled near the Oxford church, renting land with his brother a year and then went to Rossville, and with his brother and John Ryhan ran a tobacco factory three years. This not proving profitable he bought eighty acres of land on section 29, Ross Township, and afterward added thirty acres, joining it on the east. He lived there ten years, when he sold his farm to Samuel
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.
By decade
Rossville, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Between 160 and 1,653 people in every census since 1850.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rossville’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Rossville’s history
What year was Rossville founded?
In 1832, according to Wikidata. Rossville’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1850 counted 160 people here.
How does Rossville rank for history?
Rossville is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Rossville?
20% of Rossville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (5), Wikipedia, 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 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.
Date?
2010
2008
2007
