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History · Big Pool

Big Pool’s post office opened in 1897, and 58% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Fort Frederick State Park, a National Historic Landmark. Below: maps from 1901 on.

1897first post office
1on the National Register
58%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Big Pool began

When was Big Pool founded?

1897

The Big Pool post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 78129 years
Founding year: the first Big Pool post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Big Pool’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 Big Pool are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Fort Frederick State Park, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Pool’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Pool’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

1 historic place in Big Pool

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Fort Frederick State Park
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Fort Frederick State Park
Structures★ landmark
★ Landmark
Fort Frederick State ParkBuilt 1922

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

The story so far

Big Pool, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Pool yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Big Pool is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in western Washington County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 82 as of the 2010 census. It is between Clear Spring, Maryland and Hancock, Maryland along Interstate 70 and is officially a part of the Hagerstown Metropolitan Area. To the south of Big Pool lies Fort Frederick State Park, a restored fort used during the French and Indian War. Also nearby is the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which lies near Ft. Frederick alongside the Potomac River. Big Pool is also the name of a large body of water which is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. This pool occurs roughly at the 113 mile mark, an…

Its first post office opened in 1897. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 82 to 78 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Big Pool, 1897 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Big Pool post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1922BuiltFort Frederick State Park is built
  6. 1973LandmarkFort Frederick State Park named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Big Pool, decade by decade

Today11 recent
MD 56 western terminus, Aug. 20242024MD 56 western terminus, Aug. 2024MD 56 wb in Big Pool (2), Aug. 20242024MD 56 wb in Big Pool (2), Aug. 2024MD 56 wb in Big Pool (1), Aug. 20242024MD 56 wb in Big Pool (1), Aug. 20242020-05-29 13 27 45 View east along Maryland State Route 56 (Big Pool Road) at the exit for Interstate 70 EAST (Hagerst…20202020-05-29 13 27 45 View east along Maryland State Ro…2020-05-29 13 19 01 View west along Maryland State Route 56 (Big Pool Road) at the exit for Interstate 70 WEST (Hancock…20202020-05-29 13 19 01 View west along Maryland State Ro…2019-07-14 14 14 50 View east along Interstate 70 from the overpass for Maryland State Route 56 (Big Pool Road) in20192019-07-14 14 14 50 View east along Interstate 70 fro…2019-07-14 14 13 29 View west along Interstate 70 from the overpass for Maryland State Route 56 (Big Pool Road) in20192019-07-14 14 13 29 View west along Interstate 70 fro…2019-05-18 14 02 20 View east along Interstate 70 at Exit 12 (Maryland State Route 56, Indian Springs, Big Pool) on the…20192019-05-18 14 02 20 View east along Interstate 70 at …2019-05-18 12 58 21 View west along Interstate 70 at Exit 12 (Maryland State Route 56, Big Pool, Indian Springs) in20192019-05-18 12 58 21 View west along Interstate 70 at …2016-07-29 12 17 50 View east along Maryland State Route 56 (Big Pool Road) at Tedrick Drive in20162016-07-29 12 17 50 View east along Maryland State Ro…Walking Path to Fort Frederick2010Walking Path to Fort Frederick
On the map

Big Pool on the map, 1901 to 1981

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

Big Pool on the 1901 USGS mapBig Pool on the 1981 USGS map1901Hancock 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 Big Pool.

Famous people

Famous people close to Big Pool

Nobody well known was born in Big Pool itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jane Irwin HarrisonFirst Lady of the United States · b. 1804
LA KnightAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1982
Newton Diehl Baker Jr.American politician · b. 1871
Dennis ScottAmerican basketball player · b. 1968
Harry F. ByrdAmerican politician and newspaper publisher · b. 1887
V
Vicky BullettAmerican basketball player · b. 1967
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ErnstvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Big Pool’s history

What year was Big Pool founded?

The Big Pool post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Big Pool?

One place: the Fort Frederick State Park (listed 1973).

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.