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History · Potomac

Potomac dates to 1840, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

1840founded
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Omnedon · Public domain
Quick answers

How Potomac began

When was Potomac founded?

1840

Potomac dates its founding to 1840 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1857.

2020 census: 689186 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about Potomac’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Potomac are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Potomac.Old housesHalf of Potomac’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Potomac’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Potomac, 1840 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingPotomac is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Marysville post office opens
  4. 1871Post officeThe Marysville post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Potomac post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1911Born hereMargaret Harper is born here
The story

How Potomac came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Potomac.

Read it all →

The town was originally named Marysville after the wives of the two founders, John Smith and Isaac Meneley, who started businesses here circa 1840. On May 13, 1871, a post office was established at the town and was named Potomac, most likely after the Potomac River. The town's name was later changed to conform to this.

The town was hit by a tornado in April 1953, injuring a dozen people.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Potomac’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Marysville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Marysville
1857–1871
Potomac
1871–today
18501940today

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

Questions about Potomac’s history

What year was Potomac founded?

In 1840, according to Wikidata. Potomac’s post office opened in 1857.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.