Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Croom

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
BHistory
History · Croom

Croom’s post office opened in 1855, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Croom was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1900 on.

1855first post office
6on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Croom’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Croom began

When was Croom founded?

1855

The Croom post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Croom Station (1873), Northkeys (1873) and Duley (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,720171 years

How historic is Croom?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Croom post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Croom’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Croom is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Croom’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±8.6) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register6 listings, 23 historic buildings, 95.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder

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 Croom’s 95.1 sits above most of its state (84% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). 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 Croom’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Croom, and 16 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1971. Watch Croom change.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Croom had its own post office from 1855 to 1956. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Croom
1855–1956
Croom Station
1873–1951
Northkeys
1873–1918
Duley
1900–1939
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brookridge ManorCroom AcresDuleyEarly ManorGreen LandingJackson LandingLahainaLand TreeMount CalvertNorth KeysNorth Keys EstatesSelbys LandingSunrise HillsTalbertWest End FarmsWindsor Manor
Gone or out of use
Brookridge SchoolschoolChurch of the AtonementchurchIron Pot LandinglocaleSaint Simons SchoolchurchSaint Thomas Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Croom
Church of the AtonementSaint Simons ChurchSaint Thomas Episcopal Church

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

Help out

Start Croom’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Croom’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 viewWEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Ch…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Croom on the map, 1900 to 1971

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

Croom on the 1900 USGS mapCroom on the 1957 USGS mapCroom on the 1971 USGS map1900Washington 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 Croom.

The story

How Croom came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Croom.

Read it all →

The community was patented in 1671 as Croome by Christopher Rousby; it was named for the manor of Croom, near Sledmere in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In August 1814, British forces marched through Croom on their way to the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812.

St. Thomas' Episcopal Church dates to colonial times and was listed on the NRHP in 2000. Other buildings on the National Register of Historic Places located at Croom are the John W. Coffren House and Store, Bellefields, Brookefield of the Berrys, Mattaponi (John Bowie Jr. House), St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District, and Waverly.

The Columbia Air Center was located in Croom from 1941-1956. It was among the first African-American owned airports in the United States.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Croom, 1793 to 1956

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1793Born hereWilliam Williams is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1810BuiltBrookefield of the Berrys is built
  5. 1855Post officeThe Croom post office opens
  6. 1873Post officeThe Croom Station post office opens
  7. 1873Post officeThe Northkeys post office opens
  8. 1879In the archiveAtlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the county of Montgomery, Maryland
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1918Post officeThe Northkeys post office closes
  12. 1933In the archiveWEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road at Croom Road,…
  13. 1951Post officeThe Croom Station post office closes
  14. 1956Post officeThe Croom post office closes
By decade

Croom, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the county of Montgomery, Maryland1879Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including t…Map
1930s3 items
WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road at Croom Road, Croom, Prince George's County…1933WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St…WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION, WITH SCALE - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road at Croom Road, Croom, Prince Geo…1933WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION, WITH SCALE - St. Thomas' Chur…Mattaponi from HABS1936Mattaponi from HABS
1940s–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
2016-09-09 10 15 05 View north along U.S. Route 301 (Crain Highway) at Maryland State Route 382 (Croom Road) in Croom, …20162016-09-09 10 15 05 View north along U.S. Route 301 (…2016-09-07 10 09 00 View south along Maryland State Route 382 (Croom Road) at U.S. Route 301 (Crain Highway) on the edg…20162016-09-07 10 09 00 View south along Maryland State R…Waverly Croom MD Nov 112011Waverly Croom MD Nov 112010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 5 -- 10-02-200920092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 5 -- 10-02-20092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 4 -- 10-02-200920092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 4 -- 10-02-20092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 3 -- 10-02-200920092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 3 -- 10-02-20092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 2 -- 10-02-200920092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 2 -- 10-02-20092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 1 -- 10-02-200920092010 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited 1 -- 10-02-2009
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.

WEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road at Croom Road, Croom, Prince George's County…
Retake this viewWEST (FRONT) ELEVATION - St. Thomas' Church, 14300 St. Thomas' Church Road at Croom Road, Croom, Prince George's County…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

6 listings protect 23 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
23
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Pleasant Hills
Pleasant HillsJohn W. Coffren House and StoreWaverlySt. Thomas' ChurchSt. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic DistrictBrookefield of the Berrys, built 1810
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Georgian2
Gothic Revival2
Neo-Classical1
Italianate1
Federal1
Pleasant HillsNeo-Classical
John W. Coffren House and StoreGreek Revival
WaverlyItalianate
St. Thomas' ChurchGeorgian
St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic DistrictGeorgian
All 6 listings
Brookefield of the BerrysBuilding · listed 1987

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Baden1 historic placeB−Marlton2 historic placesC−Brandywine3 historic placesBQueenslandIts storyDDunkirkIts storyC+CedarvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarlboro Meadows4 historic placesB−

Questions about Croom’s history

What year was Croom founded?

The Croom post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Croom rank for history?

Croom is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns. 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.

What is on the National Register in Croom?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Pleasant Hills (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District, with 4 contributing buildings. 23 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Croom?

10% of Croom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1980.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.