Its Register listings are the St. Benedict's Catholic School and the Roundup Central School. Its Register listings are the St. Benedict's Catholic School and the Roundup Central School. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1910.
The Roundup post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, East Roundup (1908), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,513 in 19102020 census: 1,742143 years
How historic is Roundup?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roundup post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roundup’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roundup is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roundup’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Roundup’s 10.0 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Montana 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 A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 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 Roundup’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Roundup served as a place for cattlemen to "round up" their cattle along the Musselshell River. It was the trailhead in the Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive, and now drives happen annually.
The post office opened in 1883. In 1907, the Milwaukee Road reached Roundup.
From Hell to Breakfast in Old Montana, by Leland Blanchard, tells the story of pioneers who lived and worked in Roundup in the early 1900s.
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.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roundup.
Every building
Roundup, building by building, 1912–1920
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 year, then a sheet.
The Roundup post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roundup rank for history?
Roundup is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. 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 Roundup?
Two places: the St. Benedict's Catholic School (listed 1988) and the Roundup Central School (2007).
How old are the homes in Roundup?
35% of Roundup’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1954.
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 (12), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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