The Roberts post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Warren (1862), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,919142 years
How historic is Roberts?
C−
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roberts post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roberts’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roberts is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roberts’ overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Roberts’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Roberts’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Roberts was named in 1873 for John Bannister Gibson Roberts, the chief engineer for the West Wisconsin Railroad. A post office called Roberts has been in operation since 1884.
During the 1899 New Richmond tornado, some people of the town rode on horseback to Roberts to telegraph St. Paul about the tornado's impact on New Richmond, since their lines were destroyed by the tornado.
The Roberts post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roberts rank for history?
Roberts is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Roberts?
3% of Roberts’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 2002.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (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.
2010
2005