The form or shape of any community is the result of its cummulative development, which is why an understanding of the City's history is so important. The following is a brief history of Robertsdale and its surrounding area.

In 1519, the Spanish explorer, Alonzo Alverez de Peneda, sailed the four ships under his command into the waters of Mobile Bay. The shores of the Bay were inhabited by Indians, with whom the explorers traded. Other Spanish explorers followed de Pineda and, in 1559, a sand and log fort was errected on what is now known as Fort Morgan.

Although the Spanish initially explored the territories surrounding Mobile Bay, first formal settlement was established by the French. Early maps charted the eastern shores of Mobile Bay, which is now Baldwin County. Baldwin County, like its neighboring County of Mobile, was the early home of Creek and Seminole Indian tribes. White settlers of French, Spanish and English ancestry also made their home in the Baldwin territories. In 1809 an act of the Mississippi Territorial Legislature created Baldwin County.

The Southren Plantation Corportation of Chicago, Ilinois, founded Robertsdale in 1905. They chose the City's present location because of good farm land and the fact that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad line just recently made extensions to Foley. The Town was named after one of the officials of the corporation, Dr. B. F. Roberts.

Robertsdale was incorporated in 1921. For the next twenty years the Town's growth mirrored the fortunes of the entire county during this same period. But with the 1940's came the beginning of growth and prosperity for the Town. In 1940 the Baldwin National Bank moved to Town and nine years later, the Robertsdale Livestock Auction began operation. In 1950 the town reached well over the one thousand mark in population and by the early 1960's, with close to 1,500 people, the City saw its first large industry, South Baldwin Mills, establish itself in Town.

In 1990 Robertsdale's population stood at approximately 2,400 people, which is over two and a half times what it was back in 1921 when it was incorporated. Within its short history, the City has prospered and grown, and will continue to grow given adequate planning and support of its citizens.

During the year of 1996, the City of Robertsdale celebrated it's 75th anniversary with scheduled year long events. The City also installed a clock, located in the Honey Bee Park in the center of town, to commemorate 75 years since the founding of Robertsdale.