The city of Dell was already in existence at the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally called Rozelle. Shortly after the turn of the century the Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern was built through the town. Because it was surrounded by virgin timber, except for a few farms, it was basically a lumber town. Many of its residents were itinerant workers who came to work for short periods of time, at timber cutting, sawmills, stave mills and other lumber jobs. Widner-Magers Farm Historic district, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, is located a short distance North of Dell. The district consists of Plain Traditional-Style Agricultural structures which were built between 1912 and 1939.