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History · Roby

Roby’s post office opened in 1886

Most of Roby was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Lothar1976 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Roby began

When was Roby founded?

1886

The Roby post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 591140 years
Founding year: the first Roby post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Roby’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 Roby are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Roby’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roby’s collection

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

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

How Roby came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roby.

Read it all →

In 1885, shortly after Fisher County was organized, a dispute arose between business partners from Mississippi and a town called Fisher. Both wanted their land to host the courthouse. The partners were M.L. and D.C. Roby, and the town of Fisher is now called North Roby.

In 1886, construction was begun on the new courthouse and a school and post office opened. The community had 13 houses by that summer. In 1890, the population was estimated to be 300 people and the town had a hotel, two general stores, Baptist and Methodist churches, a restaurant, and a weekly newspaper, the Fisher County Call.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Roby, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Business dried up long ago at this particular Yeats Pecan Farm processing plant location in little Roby, Texas, northwe…2014Business dried up long ago at this particular Yeats P…This sign is the only remaining evidence of a long-gone cafe in little Roby, Texas, northwest of Abilene2014This sign is the only remaining evidence of a long-go…This sign is the only remaining evidence of a long-gone cafe in little Roby, Texas, northwest of Abilene2014This sign is the only remaining evidence of a long-go…Business dried up long ago at this particular Yeats Pecan Farm processing plant location in little Roby, Texas, northwe…2014Business dried up long ago at this particular Yeats P…Roby street scene2011Roby street scene

Questions about Roby’s history

What year was Roby founded?

The Roby post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.