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CHistory
History · Roseville

Roseville’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #163 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Roseville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Its Register listing is the Roselawn Chapel and Administration Building. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1950.

1857first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Roseville began

When was Roseville founded?

1857

The Roseville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1948.

First census: 6,437 in 19502020 census: 36,254169 years

How historic is Roseville?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Roseville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1948.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Roseville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roseville is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #163 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roseville’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.6% of homes (±1.2) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 40%

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 Roseville’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings 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 C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1948.

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 Roseville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Roseville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersLee Stecklein, Randy Bartz and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roseville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

13 famous people were born in Roseville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Lee SteckleinAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1994
R
Randy BartzShort-track speed skater · b. 1968
Mark Van GuilderAmerican ice Hockey player · b. 1984
Marty SertichAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1982
C
Chris McAlpineAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1971
Joey AndersonAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1998
The story

How Roseville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roseville.

Read it all →

Roseville's land was originally settled by the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples. The first white settlers came in 1843, and Native Americans left the area by 1862. Rose Township was established in 1858; it was named after one of the first settlers, Isaac Rose. The township included the areas now known as Roseville, Lauderdale, and Falcon Heights, as well as parts of present-day Saint Paul and Minneapolis. When it was first organized, Rose Township's western boundary was what is now Stinson Boulevard in Minneapolis, and its southern boundary was what is now Marshall Avenue until Dale Street, where it turned north until University Avenue (then called Minnehaha Avenue), where it turned east until it met Rice Street. Saint Paul's continued expansion and county boundary adjustments with Hennepin County reduced its size over time.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Roseville, 1857 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Roseville post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Roseville post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1968Born hereRandy Bartz is born here
  7. 1982Born hereMarty Sertich is born here
  8. 1984Born hereMark Van Guilder is born here
  9. 1994Born hereLee Stecklein is born here
By decade

Roseville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Guitar Center parking lot from the intersection of County Road B22010Guitar Center parking lot from the intersection of Co…Dairy Queen2010Dairy Queen2009-0610-009-Roseville-TargetNo120092009-0610-009-Roseville-TargetNo1Sundog2006SundogDairy queen2006Dairy queenMNMap-doton-Roseville2005MNMap-doton-Roseville
On the map

Roseville on the map, 1952 to 1993

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

Roseville on the 1952 USGS mapRoseville on the 1967 USGS mapRoseville on the 1972 USGS mapRoseville on the 1980 USGS mapRoseville on the 1993 USGS map1952New Brighton sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Roseville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Roselawn Chapel and Administration Building
Roselawn Chapel and Administration Building
Buildings
All 1 listings
Roselawn Chapel and Administration BuildingBuilding · listed 2021

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Roseville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000196019802000202036,254

Grew from 6,437 people in 1950 to 36,254 in 2020, 5 times over.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Roseville had its own post office from 1857 to 1861.

Roseville
1857–1861
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Roseville
RoselawnTemple of Aaron

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.

LauderdaleIts storyC+St. Paul117 historic placesA+ShoreviewIts storyC−Falcon Heights3 historic placesA−Maplewood1 historic placeC+

Questions about Roseville’s history

What year was Roseville founded?

The Roseville post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1948.

How does Roseville rank for history?

Roseville is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #163 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 Roseville?

One place: the Roselawn Chapel and Administration Building (listed 2021).

How old are the homes in Roseville?

4% of Roseville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.