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History · Roosevelt

17% of Roosevelt’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1953 on.

0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Roosevelt’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 Roosevelt are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roosevelt’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roosevelt’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 Roosevelt came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Roosevelt.

Read it all →

In July 1847 a crew working for the U.S. government surveyed the boundaries of the six mile square which would become Roosevelt. Then in June 1854 another crew marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with chain and compass. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:

The Surface of This Township is generally Broken Soil(?) poor 3rd Rate. Timber is principally Hemlock. There is Some little White Pine Scattered through the Township but of poor quality. The Township is well watered with numerous Small Streams. There are no Settlers in the Township.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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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On the map

Roosevelt on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Roosevelt on the 1953 USGS mapRoosevelt on the 1966 USGS mapRoosevelt on the 1980 USGS map1953Rice Lake sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roosevelt.

Famous people

Famous people close to Roosevelt

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

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Andy NorthAmerican golfer, PGA Tour member, U.S. Open cha… · b. 1950
G
Gary ReinekeCanadian actor · b. 1940
B
Brian BrunkhorstAmerican basketball player · b. 1945
D
Dave CahillAmerican football player · b. 1941
Robert Whitney BurnsUnited States general · b. 1908
B
Bruce F. BeilfussAmerican judge · b. 1915
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MaplehurstIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTaftIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWitheeIts storyB−FordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Roosevelt’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 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.