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History · Robertsdale

Robertsdale’s post office opened in 1875, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1930 on.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
From Robertsdale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Robertsdale began

When was Robertsdale founded?

1875

The Robertsdale post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

151 years
Founding year: the first Robertsdale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Robertsdale’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Robertsdale’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story

How Robertsdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Robertsdale.

Read it all →

The community was founded in 1872 as part of the construction of the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company as the original terminus and mining location. The town was created by the EBT's parent company, the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company, which operated most of the mines on the east side of the Broad Top Coal field. The initial focus of mining was the Houck Mine (renamed Rockhill Iron and Coal Mine #1) which antedated the town, though as a much smaller producer. Later, RI&C #5 became a large producer. Mines #2, #3 and #4 were in Robertsdale but were not large producers and operated only briefly. Later, the EBT was extended to Woodvale, Alvan and new Alvan as the focus of mining moved along the coal seams, though Robertsdale remained the mining headquarters. Robertsdale was a typical coal mining town, complete with company owned miner houses, a company store, a company owned water and…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Robertsdale, 1930 to 1989

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1943In the archiveEast Broad Top Coal Mines Map
  4. 1989In the archiveRobertsdale Hotel
By decade

Robertsdale, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s–1970snothing 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
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
On the map

Robertsdale on the map, 1930 to 1994

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

Robertsdale on the 1930 USGS mapRobertsdale on the 1968 USGS mapRobertsdale on the 1973 USGS mapRobertsdale on the 1994 USGS map1930Broad Top 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 Robertsdale.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Robertsdale Hotel
Retake this viewRobertsdale Hotel, 1989

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Robertsdale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 102 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
102
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Robertsdale

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

See all →

Questions about Robertsdale’s history

What year was Robertsdale founded?

The Robertsdale post office opened in 1875, 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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.