Its micropolitan statistical area consists of Phelps County, Missouri.

The first European-American settlers in Phelps County arrived in the early 19th century, working as farmers and iron workers along the local rivers, such as the Meramec, the Gasconade, and the Little Piney.

[8] Nine years later, railroad contractor Edmund Ward Bishop, considered to be the founder of Rolla, settled in the area.

One story, widely regarded as a folk legend, and acknowledged as such by the Phelps County Historical Society, arises from the competition between Rolla and neighboring Dillon, Missouri, to be designated the county seat.

When Rolla was made the county seat in 1861, the residents of Dillon, having lost a round, were allowed to choose the name of the new city and named it Rolla, after a good-for-nothing hunting dog.

George Coppedge, representing new settlers from North Carolina, wanted to name the community after Raleigh.

Bishop broke the three-way tie by agreeing with Coppedge as long as the name was spelled properly for the region, Rolla.

[9] But the one story that has some first hand evidence to back it up was that it was named after Rolla Rose of St. Louis.

His widow, Adeline Rose, related this story in the St. Louis Globe newspaper on July 19, 1903.

With numerous settlers from the South, many residents of Rolla leaned toward the Confederacy during the American Civil War; however, the town was taken by Union forces in June 1861.

In 1860, it became the western terminus of the first-constructed leg of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway,[11] colloquially known as the "Frisco Line".

Rolla was also a regular stop along U.S. Route 66, as it is almost located exactly halfway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield.

[14] The 2020 United States census[18] counted 19,943 people, 8,470 households, and 4,141 families in Rolla.

[21] Small-engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton operated a major plant in Rolla from 1996 to 2007.

Hartmann used and later expanded the former Briggs & Stratton plant for their Rolla facility.

Rolla is an important center for state and federal education and research in science and technology.

[27] Rolla and surrounding communities are served by a weekly newspaper, the Phelps County Focus.

KUMR, KRTE-FM KFLW, KFBD, KTTR, KMOZ, KTTR-FM, KZNN, KXMO, and KKID are the local commercial radio stations.