History · Arbutus

Arbutus’ post office opened in 1886, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #77 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1960.

1886first post office

2on the National Register

18%homes built before 1940

2famous people

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Quick answers

How Arbutus began

When was Arbutus founded?

1886

The Arbutus post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1896. Three smaller post offices, Saint Dennis (1851), Avalon (1853) and Halethorp (1893), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 22,402 in 19602020 census: 21,655140 years

How historic is Arbutus?

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: the first Arbutus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Arbutus’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arbutus is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #77 of 261 in Maryland. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arbutus’ overall grade.

Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194018.1% of homes (±3.4) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register2 listings, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%

NewerOlder

Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 71%

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 Arbutus’ 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Maryland 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 (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1896 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Arbutus’ 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 Arbutus, and 13 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Arbutus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark2 places on the National Register, including Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, a National Historic Landmark.Old housesHalf of Arbutus’ homes were built before 1956.

★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Arbutus had its own post office from 1886 to 1896. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Dennis

1851–1896

Avalon

1853–1894

Arbutus

1886–1896

Halethorp

1893–1936

18501940today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Arbour ManorAvalonCowdensvilleHalethorpeHilton PlaceHuntsmoor SouthOak ParkRamsgate News (not official)RelayRichardson MewsSaint DenisWinansWynnewood

Gone or out of use

Halethorp StationlocaleRelay Public Schoolschool

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Arbutus

Arbutus Memorial ParkSaint Pauls LutheranUnited Hebrew

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

Help out

Start Arbutus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arbutus’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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Arbutus

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed

National Historic Landmark

Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1966

Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

BuildingsStructures★ landmark

★ Landmark

Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio RailroadBuilt 1835

All 2 listings

Halethorpe Colored SchoolBuilding · listed 2026

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

The story

How Arbutus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arbutus.

Read it all →

The original Relay was an important station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was where traffic from Baltimore merged with that from Washington, before continuing west along the railroad's main line towards Wheeling, West Virginia (prior to 1863, Virginia). It was also a key junction for the railroad's telegraph system (the first major system in the country). The Thomas Viaduct is also located in Relay. The bridge is now operated by CSX Transportation, which acquired the B&O in 1987.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arbutus, 1835 to 1964

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

19th century
1835BuiltThomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is built
1851Post officeThe Saint Dennis post office opens
1853Post officeThe Avalon post office opens
1886Post officeThe Arbutus post office opens
1894Post officeThe Avalon post office closes
1896Post officeThe Saint Dennis post office closes
1896Post officeThe Arbutus post office closes
20th century
1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1954Born hereAdrienne A. Jones is born here
1957Born hereBob Ehrlich is born here
1964LandmarkThomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad named a National Historic Landmark

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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On the map

Arbutus on the map, 1944 to 1974

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

1944Baltimore West sheet · 1:31,680

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

People over time

Arbutus, census by census

Between 19,750 and 22,745 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Arbutus

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

See all →

Bob EhrlichGovernor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 · b. 1957

Adrienne A. JonesAmerican politician · b. 1954

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Catonsville15 historic placesA Elkridge4 historic placesB⁺Lansdowne1 historic placeB⁻Baltimore307 historic placesA⁺Ilchester2 historic placesB⁺

Questions about Arbutus’ history

What year was Arbutus founded?

The Arbutus post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.

How does Arbutus rank for history?

Arbutus is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Arbutus?

Two places: the Thomas Viaduct, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (listed 1966) and the Halethorpe Colored School (2026).

How old are the homes in Arbutus?

18% of Arbutus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1956.

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).

From 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) 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.

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