Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Rosendale

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Rosendale

Rosendale dates to 1856, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1880.

1856founded
0on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Americasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Rosendale began

When was Rosendale founded?

1856

Rosendale dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 128 in 18802020 census: 119170 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rosendale’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 Rosendale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rosendale’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 448 in 1900; 119 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rosendale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rosendale’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
The story

How Rosendale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rosendale.

Read it all →

A post office called Rosendale has been in operation since 1869. The city was named for the abundance of wild roses near the original town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Rosendale, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 448

Peaked at 448 in 1900; 119 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Rosendale, 1856 to 1927

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingRosendale is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 448
  5. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Rosendale, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Rosendale-limits2009Rosendale-limitsMOMap-doton-Rosendale2004MOMap-doton-Rosendale
On the map

Rosendale on the map, 1927 to 1984

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

Rosendale on the 1927 USGS mapRosendale on the 1945 USGS mapRosendale on the 1984 USGS map1927Bolckow 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 Rosendale.

Every building

Rosendale, building by building, 1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Rosendale fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Questions about Rosendale’s history

What year was Rosendale founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata. the census of 1880 counted 128 people here.

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) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.