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History · Aquasco

Aquasco’s post office opened in 1826, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Sunnyside, the Saint Mary's Rectory and the Villa DeSales. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1892 on.

1826first post office
3on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Aquasco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Aquasco began

When was Aquasco founded?

1826

The Aquasco post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Acquasco (1797), Poplar Hill (1914) and Trumans Point (1931), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 913200 years
Founding year: the first Aquasco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Aquasco’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Aquasco, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1974. Watch Aquasco change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1878–1933.Deep rootsA post office since 1826: 200 years of Aquasco.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Aquasco’s post office has been open since 1826. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Acquasco
1797–1826
Aquasco
1826–today
Poplar Hill
1914–1931
Trumans Point
1931–1935
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CedarhavenMeadow Woods EstatesMilltown LandingPoplar Hill
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Aquasco
Christ United Methodist ChurchSaint DominicSaint Marys Episcopal Chapel

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

On the map

Aquasco on the map, 1892 to 1974

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

Aquasco on the 1892 USGS mapAquasco on the 1901 USGS mapAquasco on the 1910 USGS mapAquasco on the 1938 USGS mapAquasco on the 1953 USGS mapAquasco on the 1974 USGS map1892Prince Frederick 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 Aquasco.

By decade

Aquasco, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland1878Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including t…MapAtlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the county of Montgomery, Maryland1879Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including t…Map
1930s10 items
GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County,…1933GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST - P. A. B…GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE SOUTHEAST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County,…1933GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE SOUTHEAST - P. A. B…GENERAL VIEW FROM ROAD FROM NORTHEAST LOOKING SOUTHWEST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince Geor…1933GENERAL VIEW FROM ROAD FROM NORTHEAST LOOKING SOUTHWE…GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County, MD1933GENERAL VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION - P. A. Bowen Ho…INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, GENERAL VIEW FROM WEST ROOM TO EAST ROOM. NORTH SIDE OF ROOM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST SHOWS FIREPL…1933INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, GENERAL VIEW FROM WEST ROOM TO…INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, STAIR AND HALL FROM EAST TO WEST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince Geor…1933INTERIOR, FIRST FLOOR, STAIR AND HALL FROM EAST TO WE…TELEPHOTO VIEW OF ROOF AREA, SOUTHEAST CORNER, SHOWS FALSE FRONT AND DORMER BRACKETS - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bow…1933TELEPHOTO VIEW OF ROOF AREA, SOUTHEAST CORNER, SHOWS …VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County, MD1933VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION - P. A. Bowen House, 157…VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION, WITH SCALE - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County, MD1933VIEW OF EAST FRONT ELEVATION, WITH SCALE - P. A. Bowe…VIEW OF EAST FRONT PORCH FROM THE NORTH (121MM LENS) - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George'…1933VIEW OF EAST FRONT PORCH FROM THE NORTH (121MM LENS) …
1940s–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
The story

How Aquasco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Aquasco.

Read it all →

Aquasco is named for a nearby tract first surveyed and patented in 1650. The name is derived from the Native American name Aquascake. Located between Swanson's Creek and the Patuxent River, the community developed as an agricultural center for the production of tobacco. The main roads connecting the widely scattered tobacco plantations were established in the 18th century and, in the early 19th century, the village of Woodville began to form. It was named after the Wood family, early settlers of Aquasco. By mid-century, the village had a grist mill, several small stores, a tavern, blacksmith, school, post office, and Methodist and Episcopal churches.

ChaptersHistoric sites

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Aquasco, 1768 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1768Born hereLeonard Covington is born here
  3. 1797Post officeThe Acquasco post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1826Post officeThe Acquasco post office closes
  6. 1826Post officeThe Aquasco post office opens
  7. 1878In the archiveAtlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland
  8. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1914Post officeThe Poplar Hill post office opens
  11. 1931Post officeThe Poplar Hill post office closes
  12. 1933In the archiveGENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aq…
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.

GENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County,…
Retake this viewGENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST - P. A. Bowen House, 15701 Dr. Bowen Road, Aquasco, Prince George's County,…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Aquasco

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Sunnyside
SunnysideSaint Mary's RectoryVilla DeSales
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Federal1
Italianate1
Greek Revival1
Gothic1
SunnysideVernacular
Saint Mary's RectoryItalianate
Villa DeSalesGothic

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

Help out

Finish Aquasco’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGENERAL PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM THE NORTH…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Baden1 historic placeB−Hughesville2 historic placesB−

Questions about Aquasco’s history

What year was Aquasco founded?

The Aquasco post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Aquasco?

Three places: the Sunnyside (listed 1987), the Saint Mary's Rectory (1987) and the Villa DeSales (1988).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.