After the Civil War, fertile soil, good water, and rail transportation drew cotton farmers to this area, soon joined by German settlers from Washington County led by the Rev. Friedrick von Schleumbach. A nearby postal station called Roddy first served the area, but a town developed here after William Henry Riesel built a cotton gin in 1890. The Rev. von Schleumbach platted the townsite of Riesel, and the settlement grew as an early agricultural center of southeastern McLennan County.