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B−History
History · Delmar

Delmar dates to 1859, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Highball Signal and the West Potato House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1880.

1859founded
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Delmar’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Delmar began

When was Delmar founded?

1859

Delmar dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 130 in 18802020 census: 2,027167 years

How historic is Delmar?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Delmar’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delmar is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Delmar’s overall grade.
Founding era1859, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194020.4% of homes (±7.2) · typical DE town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 8.3 per 10,000 residents · typical DE town 29.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

Delaware towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Delaware town has 29.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Delmar’s 8.3 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1859.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Delmar’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19016 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1992. Watch Delmar change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1904 to 1923, drew every building in Delmar.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delmar’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delmar’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDelmar station 1905 postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Delmar on the map, 1901 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Delmar. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Delmar on the 1901 USGS mapDelmar on the 1943 USGS mapDelmar on the 1953 USGS mapDelmar on the 1971 USGS mapDelmar on the 1983 USGS mapDelmar on the 1992 USGS map1901Salisbury sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Delmar.

Every building

Delmar, building by building, 1904–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Delmar fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Delmar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delmar.

Read it all →

The Town of Delmar was founded in October 1859 with the extension of the Delaware Railroad to the southern boundary of Delaware. The Transpeninsular Line was responsible for the founding of this unique bi-state town because the Charter of the Delaware Railroad Company permitted only the building of a railroad within the State of Delaware and the charter of the corresponding railroad company in Maryland permitted only the laying of railroad track within the State of Maryland. Thus, in 1859, the two respective railroads met and the town of Delmar was born. The name is a portmanteau of the states whose border this railroad center straddles - Delaware and Maryland.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Delmar, 1859 to 1993

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859
    FoundingDelmar is established
  3. 1863Post officeThe Delmar post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1905In the archiveDelmar station 1905 postcard
  7. 1916Born hereWilliam Alland is born here
  8. 1988Born hereLauren Witzke is born here
  9. 1993Born hereAlex Ellis is born here
By decade

Delmar, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Delmar station 1905 postcard1905Delmar station 1905 postcardPostcard
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Shops in2018Shops inHighway in2018Highway inHighball Signal Jun 122012Highball Signal Jun 12
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Delmar station 1905 postcard
Retake this viewDelmar station 1905 postcard, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Delmar’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Delmar

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Highball Signal
Highball SignalWest Potato House
BuildingsObjects
Highball SignalObject
All 2 listings
West Potato HouseBuilding · listed 1990

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Delmar, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000188019001920194019601980200020202,027

Grew from 130 people in 1880 to 2,027 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Delmar’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Delmar

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
William AllandActor, producer, writer and director · b. 1916
L
Lauren WitzkeAmerican far-right activist and politician · b. 1988
A
Alex EllisAmerican football player · b. 1993
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Delmar’s post office has been open since 1863.

Gone or out of use
Delmar State Line Airportairport
1cemetery inside Delmar
Saint Stephens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Delmar’s history

What year was Delmar founded?

In 1859, according to Wikidata. Delmar’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1880 counted 130 people here.

How does Delmar rank for history?

Delmar is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Delmar?

Two places: the Highball Signal (listed 1973) and the West Potato House (1990).

How old are the homes in Delmar?

20% of Delmar’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 1992.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.