Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1905.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Braddock Heights’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Braddock Heights is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #72 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Braddock Heights’ 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 Braddock Heights’ 17.3 sits above most of its state (73% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% 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 (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1896.
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 Braddock Heights’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Braddock Heights is located at an elevation of 950 feet (290 m) atop Braddock Mountain (as Catoctin Mountain is locally known) near the pass at Braddock Springs, so named after British General Edward Braddock and Lt. Colonel George Washington's use of the mountain pass on their way to Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War on April 29, 1755. During the Civil War, Braddock Heights was the site of a minor cavalry battle between generals J.E.B. Stuart (CSA) and Alfred Pleasonton (USA) on September 13, 1862; it was at that time known as "Fairview Pass". One mile east of Braddock Heights, near the base of Braddock Mountain, are the older communities of Clifton and Old Braddock.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Braddock Heights. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1944Middletown 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 Braddock Heights.
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.
Retake this viewBraddock Hotel, Braddock Heights, Maryland, Postcard, Circa 1915, c. 1915
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Braddock Heights’ page.
In 1896, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Braddock Heights’ post office opened in 1905, and the census of 2000 counted 4,627 people here.
How does Braddock Heights rank for history?
Braddock Heights is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #72 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 Braddock Heights?
One place: the Rich Mountain (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Braddock Heights?
11% of Braddock Heights’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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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