[3][4] The community was named after John Roe, an immigrant from Ireland who settled on 267 acres (1.08 km2) in 1883, on part of which Roeland Park now stands.

[5] The area that would become Roeland Park was first developed in 1905 as a streetcar suburb, known as Southridge, by William Strang.

Single-family home construction in this area accelerated during the late 1930s and 1940s as more developers subdivided land purchased from farmers.

A series of annexations occurred between 1951 and 1959 leading to the present-day city boundaries.

[7] Roeland Park's original pool was built in 1958 on land donated by the Roe Estate.

The new pool facility is located on the east side of the Community Center at 4843 Rosewood Drive.

The Community Center address is 4850 Rosewood Drive and offers many different programs throughout the year.

Poppa succeeded previous mayor, Mike Kelly, who was elected chairman of the Johnson County board of commissioners.

[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.62 square miles (4.20 km2), all land.

[10] The 2020 United States census[11] counted 6,871 people, 3,144 households, and 1,668 families in Roeland Park.

The community is served by Shawnee Mission USD 512 public school district.

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Roeland Park include: