The Town of Rolesville was first incorporated on January 18, 1837 by the North Carolina Legislature. That makes this small quaint town the second oldest municipality in Wake County. Only the City of Raleigh was chartered earlier around 1794. Considering all of that, the Town of Rolesville will turn 175 years old in the year 2012. The population was 3,786 at the 2010 census

Rolesville began as a humble farming community, of which many large family tracts are still cultivated today. Most of the large family farms in the heart of Rolesville, however, have been developed into residential or commercial subdivisions, allowing Rolesville to become one of the top three fastest growing communities in North Carolina every year since 2005. Rolesville was named after William H. Roles, who was a local land owner, merchant, cotton broker, cotton gin owner, and postmaster.

There are three properties in Rolesville that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Dr. Lawrence Branch Young House, the Green-Hartsfield House and the Heartsfield-Perry Farm.