Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Burkittsville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Burkittsville streetPhoto: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Burkittsville

Burkittsville’s post office opened in 1828, and 73% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 168 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 1870.

1828first post office
3on the National Register
73%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Burkittsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Burkittsville began

When was Burkittsville founded?

1828

The Burkittsville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1894. Another post office, Harley's Store (1824), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 293 in 18702020 census: 142198 years
Founding year: the first Burkittsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Burkittsville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Crampton's Gap Historic District takes in 98 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Burkittsville’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Burkittsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Burkittsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPoffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 169 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
169
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Burkittsville
Burkittsville, built 1790Crampton's Gap Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Log1
Stone1
Timber Frame Pennsylvania-type Barn1
BurkittsvilleFederal · Built 1790
Crampton's Gap Historic DistrictLog
Ceres Bethel AME ChurchBuilt 1870

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

The story

How Burkittsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Burkittsville.

Read it all →

English settlement in this region began in the early 18th century. Land was being surveyed and patented in the south-western portion of the Middletown Valley beginning in the 1720s. The first land tract to be patented within the present boundaries of Burkittsville was "Dawson's Purchase", dated May 14, 1741. The Harley/Arnold Farm, located on the western border of the village at the base of South Mountain, stands on the "Dawson's Purchase" tract.

ChaptersBlair Witch

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Burkittsville, 1790 to 1980

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790BuiltBurkittsville is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1824Post officeThe Harley's Store post office opens
  5. 1828Post officeThe Harley's Store post office closes
  6. 1828Post officeThe Burkittsville post office opens
  7. 1870BuiltCeres Bethel AME Church is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1980In the archivePoffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built in 1878
By decade

Burkittsville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s3 items
Poffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built in 18781980Poffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built i…Poffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built in 18781980Poffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built i…Memorial Civil War Arch to War Correspondents at Crampston's Gap1980Memorial Civil War Arch to War Correspondents at Cram…
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
10530 Main St201610530 Main St10529 St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church201610529 St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church10528 Resurrection Reformed Church201610528 Resurrection Reformed Church10527 Resurrection Reformed Church201610527 Resurrection Reformed ChurchBurkittsville, Gapland Road streetscape2015Burkittsville, Gapland Road streetscapeBurkittsville house and shed2015Burkittsville house and shedFarm on Gapland Road2014Farm on Gapland RoadSouth Mountain Heritage Society2008South Mountain Heritage Society
On the map

Burkittsville on the map, 1944 to 1971

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

Burkittsville on the 1944 USGS mapBurkittsville on the 1953 USGS mapBurkittsville on the 1971 USGS map1944Keedysville 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 Burkittsville.

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.

Poffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built in 1878
Retake this viewPoffenberger Road bridge over Catoctin Creek, built in 1878, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Burkittsville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Burkittsville, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 293

Between 142 and 293 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Burkittsville

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

See all →
Robert LucasGovernor of Ohio · b. 1781
Jesse B. ThomasAmerican politician · b. 1777
E
Emanuel Willis WilsonAmerican politician · b. 1844
Charlie KellerAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1916
Alexander BotelerAmerican politician · b. 1815
J
Joseph Howard HodgesAmerican Roman Catholic bishop · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Burkittsville’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, Harley's Store, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Harley's Store
1824–1828
Burkittsville
1828–today
18201920today
1cemetery inside Burkittsville
Burkittsville Union

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

Questions about Burkittsville’s history

What year was Burkittsville founded?

The Burkittsville post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.

What is on the National Register in Burkittsville?

Three places: the Burkittsville (listed 1975), the Crampton's Gap Historic District (2011) and the Ceres Bethel AME Church (2020).

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 (8), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.