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SotterleySotterley · Photo: Pubdog at en.wikipedia · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Broomes Island

Broomes Island’s post office opened in 1889

Most of Broomes Island was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1892 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Broomes Island began

When was Broomes Island founded?

1889

The Broomes Island post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 379137 years
Founding year: the first Broomes Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Broomes Island’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 Broomes Island are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1986. Watch Broomes Island change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Broomes Island’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Broomes Island’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Broomes Island on the map, 1892 to 1986

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

Broomes Island on the 1892 USGS mapBroomes Island on the 1901 USGS mapBroomes Island on the 1939 USGS mapBroomes Island on the 1950 USGS mapBroomes Island on the 1963 USGS mapBroomes Island on the 1986 USGS map1892Leonardtown 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 Broomes Island.

The story so far

Broomes Island, in brief

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

Broomes Island is a small waterfront community and census-designated place (CDP) located at the southern terminus of MD 264 in Calvert County, Maryland, United States, on the Patuxent River. It is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Prince Frederick, the county seat. As of 2019 Census estimates, the population of the CDP was 421. Although Broomes Island is a rather small community, it does have its own post office and zip code, 20615. In November 2007, the United States Postal Service considered closing the small post office and re-routing all mail delivery through the larger St. Leonard post office branch. After residents contacted US Senator Barbara Mikulski about the proposed…

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 405 to 379 (-6%).

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

By decade

Broomes Island, decade by decade

Today4 recent
2020-05-24 13 32 32 View north along Maryland State Route 264 (Broomes Island Road) just north of Church Road in20202020-05-24 13 32 32 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-20 13 44 23 View north along Maryland State Route 264 (Broomes Island Road) between Oyster House Road and Pearl…20162016-07-20 13 44 23 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-20 13 43 18 Tidal marshes along the edge of Grapevine Cove of the Patuxent River in20162016-07-20 13 43 18 Tidal marshes along the edge of G…Tobacco Barn2015Tobacco Barn
Famous people

Famous people close to Broomes Island

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

See all →
Alfred GoughAmerican screenwriter and producer · b. 1967
Jerome AdamsSurgeon General of the United States from 2017 … · b. 1974
Benedict Joseph FenwickAmerican Catholic bishop · b. 1782
T.J. CarterAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Leonard CovingtonAmerican politician · b. 1768
J
James R. LewisWriter and academic specializing in various rel… · b. 1949

Questions about Broomes Island’s history

What year was Broomes Island founded?

The Broomes Island post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.