Bel Air dates to 1780, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #57 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Bel Air was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 18 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bel Air’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bel Air is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #57 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bel Air’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 Bel Air’s 23.6 sits above most of its state (77% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1780.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.
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 Bel Air’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, who had inherited land known as "Scott's Improvement Enlarged", planned the town on a portion that he called "Scott's Old Fields". Four years later, the town had expanded as local politicians, merchants, and innkeepers purchased lots from Scott, and the county commissioners decided to change its name to the more appealing "Belle Aire". In his deeds, Scott dropped one letter, renaming the town "Bell Aire". Around 1798, court records dropped two more letters, and "Bel Air" was born.
Passages that mention Bel Air, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Harford County, Maryland1901 · page 80Read the page →
Read the text
The first record of the change of name from Scott's Fields to Bel Air we find in the minutes of March 22, 1785, where the expression is used "at a county court held for Harford county at the courthouse in the town of Bel Air," etc. ; but at the August term of the same year it is again called Scott's Old Fields, and in the November term Bel Air is again mentioned as the name.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
HISTORY OF HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND1901 · page 80Read the page →
Read the text
_ The first record of the change of name from Scott’s Fields to Bel Air we find in the minutes of March 22, 1785, where the expression is used “at a county court held for Harford county at the courthouse in the town of Bel Air,” etc.; but at the August term of the same year it is again called Scott’s Old Fields, and in the November term Bel Air is again mentioned as the name.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Harford County, Maryland1901 · page 268Read the page →
Read the text
Bel Air, in 1798, contained one hundred and fiftyseven inhabitants, of whom thirty-six were black; one Methodist meeting house, four licensed inns, courthouse, jail, three stores, two blacksmith shops, two joiners, one chairmaker, one shoemaker, one wheelwright, one tailor.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
HISTORY OF HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND1901 · page 268Read the page →
Read the text
Bel Air, in 1798, contained one hundred and fiftyseven inhabitants, of whom thirty-six were black; one Methodist meeting house, four licensed inns, courthouse, jail, three stores, two blacksmith shops, two joiners, one chairmaker, one shoemaker, one wheelwright, one tailor.
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
Bel Air, 1780 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1780, according to Wikidata. Bel Air’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1850 counted 255 people here.
How does Bel Air rank for history?
Bel Air is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Bel Air?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Odd Fellows Lodge (listed 1975, the first), and 1 historic district, the Bel Air Courthouse Historic District, with 18 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bel Air?
3% of Bel Air’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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