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Rockville, Nebraska downtown 2Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Rockville

Rockville’s post office opened in 1873, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Rockville began, and where its name came from

When was Rockville founded?

1873

The Rockville post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 158 in 19002020 census: 89153 years

How did Rockville get its name?

Rockville was named from Rock Creek.

Founding year: the first Rockville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rockville’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.On the map since 18994 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Rockville change.Old housesHalf of Rockville’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 241 in 1930; 89 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockville’s collection

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

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

Rockville on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Rockville on the 1899 USGS mapRockville on the 1953 USGS mapRockville on the 1978 USGS mapRockville on the 1985 USGS map1899Loup sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Rockville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockville.

Read it all →

Rockville was platted in 1886 when the Union Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. It was named from Rock Creek.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rockville, 1873 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Rockville post office opens
  3. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912In the archiveSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Rockville, Sherman County, Nebraska. LOC sanborn05244 001
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 241
By decade

Rockville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Rockville, Sherman County, Nebraska. LOC sanborn05244 0011912Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Rockville, Sherman Co…Map
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Rockville, Nebraska welcome sign2010Rockville, Nebraska welcome signRockville, Nebraska downtown 32010Rockville, Nebraska downtown 3Rockville, Nebraska downtown 22010Rockville, Nebraska downtown 2Rockville, Nebraska downtown 12010Rockville, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Rockville2005NEMap-doton-Rockville
Every building

Rockville, building by building, 1912

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.

Rockville fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 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.

People over time

Rockville, census by census

01002001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 241

Peaked at 241 in 1930; 89 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rockville

Nobody well known was born in Rockville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry FondaAmerican actor · b. 1905
Edith AbbottAmerican economist · b. 1876
Dick CavettAmerican talk show host · b. 1936
George BairdAthletics competitor · b. 1907
Grace AbbottSocial worker · b. 1878
Grover Cleveland AlexanderAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Rockville’s post office has been open since 1873.

Gone or out of use
Rockvillelocale

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

Questions about Rockville’s history

What year was Rockville founded?

The Rockville post office opened in 1873, 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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.