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–Not graded
History · Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s post office opened in 1901, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1910.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Roosevelt’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Roosevelt began

When was Roosevelt founded?

1901

The Roosevelt post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 252 in 19102020 census: 153125 years
Founding year: the first Roosevelt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Roosevelt’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 304 in 1940; 153 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1984. Watch Roosevelt change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roosevelt’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1935NorrisCampMN: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Roosevelt, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 304

Peaked at 304 in 1940; 153 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Roosevelt’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Roosevelt on the map, 1918 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Roosevelt. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Roosevelt on the 1918 USGS mapRoosevelt on the 1943 USGS mapRoosevelt on the 1967 USGS mapRoosevelt on the 1984 USGS map1918Roosevelt sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roosevelt.

The story

How Roosevelt came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roosevelt.

Read it all →

A post office called Roosevelt has been in operation since 1901. Roosevelt also features a full service grocery store called Market on Main that has been in operation for over 100 years. The city was named for Theodore Roosevelt the 26th president of the United States.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Roosevelt, 1901 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Roosevelt post office opens
  3. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1935In the archive1935NorrisCampMN
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 304
By decade

Roosevelt, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
1935NorrisCampMN19351935NorrisCampMN
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
NORTHWEST Angle2009NORTHWEST Angle
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.

1935NorrisCampMN
Retake this view1935NorrisCampMN, 1935

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners

Roosevelt’s post office has been open since 1901.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Roosevelt Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Laona TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Roosevelt’s history

What year was Roosevelt founded?

The Roosevelt post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.