The story
Read it all →How Rossville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Rossville.
Rossville was founded in 1871. It was named for William W. Ross, a Kansas reporter.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B−History
History · Rossville
Rossville’s post office opened in 1862, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1880.
1862first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Rossville began, and where its name came from
When was Rossville founded?
1862
The Rossville post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1871.
First census: 323 in 18802020 census: 1,105164 years
How did Rossville get its name?
Rossville was named for William W. Ross, a Kansas reporter.
How historic is Rossville?
B−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rossville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1871. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.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 45% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rossville’s overall grade.
Founding era1862, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194028.1% of homes (±8.0) · typical KS town 10.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical KS town 5.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rossville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Kansas 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 D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1871 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Rossville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Rossville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rossville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Rossville in 1905
Passages that mention Rossville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Shawnee County, Kansas1905 · page 51Read the page →
Read the text
The Union Pacific Railroad runs across the southwestern corner of the township, and the town of Rossville is located thereon. The town was established in 1871, originally known as Edna, but early changed to correspond with the name of the township. The town company was composed of A. C. Sherman, George W. Veale, H. H. Wilcox and Fielding Johnson, all residents of Topeka. The town-site, 100 acres, was purchased of Anthony Navarre, a Mormon preacher, and his Indian wife, So-na-ne-qua. A. C.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Shawnee County, Kansas1905 · page 29Read the page →
Read the text
acquired on the north of the river erected into the township of Soldier. The change of county lines in 1868 made necessary another division into townships, Silver Lake being detached from Soldier. By another change, in 1871, Rossville was set off from Silver Lake, on the west. In 1879 Mencken township was set oft' from Silver Lake, on the east. The permanent arrangement of townships is: Rossville, Silver Lake, Menoken and Soldier, on the north side of the river ; Dover, Mission, Topeka, Topeka City, Tecumseh, Auburn, Williamsport and Monmouth, on the south.
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
2024
c. 2006
2005On the map
Rossville on the map, 1952 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rossville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Rossville sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rossville.
People over time
Rossville, census by census
Between 323 and 1,151 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rossville’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Rossville
Nobody well known was born in Rossville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Rossville’s history
What year was Rossville founded?
The Rossville post office opened in 1862, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1871.
How does Rossville rank for history?
Rossville is more historic than 45% 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?
28% of Rossville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1966.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), 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.