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Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware CanalOld Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal · Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Chesapeake City

Chesapeake City dates to 1850, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 100 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1850.

1850founded
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chesapeake City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chesapeake City began

When was Chesapeake City founded?

1850

Chesapeake City dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 423 in 18502020 census: 736176 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Chesapeake City’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe South Chesapeake City Historic District takes in 100 historic buildings.On the map since 18988 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1992. Watch Chesapeake City change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,402 in 1880; 736 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chesapeake City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chesapeake City’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 viewGravestone of Augustine Herrman: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 105 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Ca…
historic buildings protected
105
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Ca…
South Chesapeake City Historic DistrictOld Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Simplified Regency1
Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Romanesque1
Gothic Revival1
★ Landmark
Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware CanalBuilding
South Chesapeake City Historic DistrictFederal

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

On the map

Chesapeake City on the map, 1898 to 1992

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

Chesapeake City on the 1898 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1900 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1917 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1942 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1953 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1970 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1985 USGS mapChesapeake City on the 1992 USGS map1898Elkton 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 Chesapeake City.

The story

How Chesapeake City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chesapeake City.

Read it all →

The town was separated into north and south sections when the C&D Canal was built through the middle of the town. The two were connected by a drawbridge until 1942 when that was destroyed by a freighter that struck it. The current bridge opened in 1949.

The new bridge had to be tall enough to allow supertankers to pass beneath it, resulting in a structure so high and long that cars no longer went into the city to cross the canal. Business declined for decades thereafter.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chesapeake City, 1850 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingChesapeake City is established
  3. 1880CensusPopulation peaks at 1,402
  4. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1930Born hereBasil H. Losten is born here
  7. 1941In the archiveGravestone of Augustine Herrman
  8. 1965LandmarkOld Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Chesapeake City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Gravestone of Augustine Herrman1941Gravestone of Augustine Herrman
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Barwick House B2020Barwick House BBarwick House A2020Barwick House ABanks Steele House2020Banks Steele HouseSouth Chesapeake City HD MD CecilCo2013South Chesapeake City HD MD CecilCoMDMap-doton-ChesapeakeCity2004MDMap-doton-ChesapeakeCity
Every building

Chesapeake City, building by building, 1901–1907

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Chesapeake City fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Gravestone of Augustine Herrman
Retake this viewGravestone of Augustine Herrman, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Chesapeake City, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001850190019502000Peak: 1,402

Peaked at 1,402 in 1880; 736 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Universalist Churchchurch

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Chesapeake City’s history

What year was Chesapeake City founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. the census of 1850 counted 423 people here.

What is on the National Register in Chesapeake City?

Two places: the Old Lock Pump House, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (listed 1966) and the South Chesapeake City Historic District (1974).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.