Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listings are the Steptoe Battlefield Site, the Rosalia Railroad Bridge and the Central Service Station. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.
Rosalia dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880Rosalia, Washington (1880)
1880Rosalia, Washington, 1880 - DPLA - 906b8bf7ac5ca2559d…
c. 1900Bank of Rosalia, Rosalia, Washington, circa 1900 - DP…Postcard
1902Pythian block building, Rosalia, Washington, 1902 - D…Postcard
c. 1908Rosalia School, grades 3 and 4, Rosaila, Washington, …Postcard
c. 1908Rosalia School, grades 3 and 4, Rosaila, Washington, …Postcard
1909Home of James and Rose Schindler, Rosalia, Washington…Postcard
c. 1910Fire department of Rosalia, Washington, circa 1910 - …Postcard
c. 1910Wheat blockade, Rosalia, Washington, circa 1910 - DPL…Postcard
1911Rosalia-Colfax football game, Rosalia, Washington, 19…Postcard
1913Hotel Rosalia, Rosalia, Washington, 1913 - DPLA - 315…Postcard
c. 1915Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul railroad trestle near Rosa…Postcard
c. 1920C. J. Hall General Blacksmithing, Rosalia, Washington…Postcard
c. 1920Rosalia, Washington (looking north), circa 1920 - DPL…Postcard
c. 1920Rosalia, Washington, circa 1920 - DPLA - 25e5a526e484…Postcard
c. 1920Turnley Block building in Rosalia, Washington, circa …Postcard
c. 1920Turnley block building in Rosalia, Washington, circa …Postcard
c. 1920Whitman Street (looking north) in Rosalia, Washington…PostcardFrom Wikipedia’s history of Rosalia.
Rosalia was the site of an 1858 Battle of Pine Creek between United States troops, including Nez Perce allies, under Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, and members of the Coeur d'Alene, Palus and Spokane Native American tribes.
Rosalia was founded in 1870 by T.J. Favorite, who named it for his wife. Rosalia was officially incorporated on March 23, 1894.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rosalia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rosalia.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveRosalia, Washington (1880)In the archiveBank of Rosalia, Rosalia, Washington, circa 1900 - DPLA - 38650eb76b27e823a60a337d274a14c9
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyIn the archiveFire department of Rosalia, Washington, circa 1910 - DPLA - 3b5fc32dd95c07b01f93d0da2b18d…
BuiltRosalia Railroad Bridge is builtIn the archiveC. J. Hall General Blacksmithing, Rosalia, Washington, circa 1920 - DPLA - feae9bd8c1719b…
BuiltSteptoe Battlefield Site is builtFire 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.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rosalia’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 248 and 767 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rosalia’s Wikipedia page.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
In 1870, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rosalia’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1890 counted 248 people here.
Three places: the Steptoe Battlefield Site (listed 1976), the Rosalia Railroad Bridge (1982) and the Central Service Station (2007).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
