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History · Rochelle

Rochelle’s post office opened in 1879

Most of Rochelle was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1894 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Rochelle began

When was Rochelle founded?

1879

The Rochelle post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 169147 years
Founding year: the first Rochelle post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Rochelle’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 Rochelle are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18943 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Rochelle change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rochelle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rochelle’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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On the map

Rochelle on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Rochelle on the 1894 USGS mapRochelle on the 1963 USGS mapRochelle on the 1985 USGS map1894Brady 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 Rochelle.

The story

How Rochelle came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rochelle.

Read it all →

Initial names for the community included Crewville and Crothers, both in honor of early McCulloch County residents. When a post office was established in 1879, the name Rochelle was suggested by a local settler from La Rochelle, France, which was accepted by postal officials. A one-room schoolhouse was first built in 1886 when the community had a population of approximately 30. The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway Company laid its track from Brownwood to Brady in 1903. A second line, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad completed its track from Eden to Lometa in 1912. The arrival of the railroads caused Rochelle to grow substantially. The number of inhabitants had risen to around 700 by 1914. In 1930, several smaller schools consolidated with Rochelle High School. These schools were Placid, Claxton, Corn Creek, and Round Mountain. Several more schools, including Cowboy, Fairview, …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rochelle, 1879 to 1894

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Rochelle post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Rochelle post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Rochelle post office opens
  5. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Rochelle

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

See all →
Tommy Lee JonesAmerican actor and film director · b. 1946
M. King HubbertAmerican geoscientist · b. 1903
Thomas StewartAmerican bass-baritone singer · b. 1928
Bill BurnsMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1880
Alton TerryAmerican javelin thrower · b. 1912
B
Bill DavenportAmerican football halfback · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Rochelle had its own post office from 1879 to 1880.

Rochelle
1879–1880
Rochelle
1884–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Rochelle’s history

What year was Rochelle founded?

The Rochelle post office opened in 1879, 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 →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.