Chillum’s post office opened in 1894, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #117 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Chillum was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1961. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Chillum post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chillum’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chillum is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #117 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chillum’s 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 Chillum’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Chillum’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Chillum takes its name from "Chillum Castle Manor," the 4,443-acre (17.98 km2) land patent established in 1763, by William Dudley Digges. It included lands in the present-day District of Columbia and in Prince George's County, and was composed of previously established land patents such as Henrietta Maria, Widows Purchase, Yarrow and Yarrow Head. Chillum Castle Manor was named after Chilham Castle, the old home of Sir Dudley Digges, an ancestor of William Dudley Digges, in Kent, England.
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.
The Chillum post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Chillum rank for history?
Chillum is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #117 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.
How old are the homes in Chillum?
6% of Chillum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1961.
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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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