Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #225 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Cape St. Claire was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cape St. Claire is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #225 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Cape St. Claire’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cape St. Claire’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cape St. Claire. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cape St. Claire.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Cape St. Claire.
The area that was to become Cape St. Claire was mostly farmland until the 1940s. In the late 18th century, much of the land was operated as farmland by a couple of families. Two houses from this era remain—the "Stinchcomb House" located near the Cape St. Claire clubhouse, and Goshen Farm, located on a hill near the Cape St. Claire Elementary School.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Between 8,022 and 9,179 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cape St. Claire’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Cape St. Claire itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Cape St. Claire is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #225 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.
2% of Cape St. Claire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1978.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2020
2020
2020
2004