Roseau’s post office opened in 1895, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #92 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Roseau County Courthouse and the Roseau Memorial Arena. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1900.
The Roseau post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Jadis (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 301 in 19002020 census: 2,744131 years
How historic is Roseau?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roseau post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roseau’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roseau is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #92 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roseau’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Roseau’s 7.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 points). 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 Roseau’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to the arrival of European Settlers, the land that is now Roseau Minnesota was occupied by the Ojibwe people, who were known to farm the wild rice surrounding the Roseau River.
A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its name from the nearby Roseau River.
The Webster Hotel was purchased in January 1898, the building then became the first courthouse in the region.
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.
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.
The Roseau post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roseau rank for history?
Roseau is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #92 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
What is on the National Register in Roseau?
Two places: the Roseau County Courthouse (listed 1985) and the Roseau Memorial Arena (2024).
How old are the homes in Roseau?
14% of Roseau’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1982.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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