Abingdon dates to 1779, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #68 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Abingdon was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Its Register listing is the Nelson-Reardon-Kennard House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and old-book passages.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1782.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Abingdon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Abingdon is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #68 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Abingdon’s overall grade.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Abingdon’s 4.0 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1779.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Abingdon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Abingdon was named after Abingdon, England. Abingdon was laid out in 1779 by John Paca, father of William Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Maryland's third governor. Abingdon was the site of Cokesbury College, the first Methodist college in the United States.
Woodside was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Nelson-Reardon-Kennard House was listed in 1991.
Abingdon changed from an unincorporated community to a census-designated place for the 2020 census.
Passages that mention Abingdon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
HISTORY OF HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND1901 · page 269Read the page →
Read the text
Abingdon, in 1798, contained fifty-one dwellings and two hundred and forty inhabitants, of whom sixty-six were black ; eight stores, several mechanical shops, one tan yard, two schoolhouses, a Methodist church. Cokesbury College, established by the Methodists in 1785, was burned in 1796.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
HISTORY OF HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND1901 · page 37Read the page →
Read the text
In 1704 John Webster owned Ah, Ah, the Cow Pasture, 194 acres, near the present village of Abingdon. William Bradford acquired the following tracts in the following years: 1722-4, part of Enlargement, 96 acres.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Abingdon, 1740 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1779, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Abingdon’s post office opened in 1782.
How does Abingdon rank for history?
Abingdon is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #68 of 261 in Maryland. 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 Abingdon?
One place: the Nelson-Reardon-Kennard House (listed 1991).
How old are the homes in Abingdon?
4% of Abingdon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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