More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #166 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Rosedale was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1970.
The Rosedale post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Golden Ring (1885) and Mount Hays (1931), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 19,417 in 19702020 census: 19,961148 years
How historic is Rosedale?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rosedale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rosedale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rosedale is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #166 of 261 in Maryland. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rosedale’s overall grade.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rosedale’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Rosedale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The etymology of Rosedale remains uncertain and lacks definitive documentation. However, according to anecdotal evidence, a fourth-grade class in 1950 was instructed to conduct interviews with local residents regarding the history of the Rosedale community. From their interviews, a possible explanation emerged: A young Englishman had a farm on Hamilton Avenue just above Philadelphia Road. His farm had numerous roses. Since his name was Dale and the roses were so lovely, the townspeople settled on the name of Rosedale.
The Rosedale post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rosedale rank for history?
Rosedale is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #166 of 261 in Maryland. 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 Rosedale?
7% of Rosedale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1963.
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 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.
