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History · Roscommon

Roscommon’s post office opened in 1873

Most of Roscommon was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roscommon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roscommon began

When was Roscommon founded?

1873

The Roscommon post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 981153 years
Founding year: the first Roscommon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Roscommon’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roscommon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roscommon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFire Prevention - Slash Disposal: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Roscommon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roscommon.

Read it all →

The community of Roscommon was first settled as early as 1845 by George Robinson of Detroit shortly after Roscommon County was organized in 1840. The community was named after the county, which itself was named after County Roscommon in Ireland. The Roscommon post office was established on January 9, 1873, with Alfred Bennett serving as the first postmaster. In 1875, Roscommon became the county seat and incorporated as a village in 1882.

Beginning in 1979, the annual Michigan's Firemen's Memorial Festival is held in Roscommon and commemorates firefighters who died while protecting their communities.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Roscommon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Fire Prevention - Slash DisposalDate?Fire Prevention - Slash Disposal
Today5 recent
St. Michael Parish-Roscommon2022St. Michael Parish-RoscommonRoscommon, MI village office2021Roscommon, MI village officeRoscommon, MI post office2021Roscommon, MI post officeRoscommon County Building (Michigan)2019Roscommon County Building (Michigan)Pioneer House2014Pioneer House
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.

Fire Prevention - Slash Disposal
Retake this viewFire Prevention - Slash Disposal

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Roscommon’s history

What year was Roscommon founded?

The Roscommon post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.