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History · Dames Quarter

Dames Quarter’s post office opened in 1858, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1903 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dames Quarter began

When was Dames Quarter founded?

1858

The Dames Quarter post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 142168 years
Founding year: the first Dames Quarter post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Dames Quarter’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dames Quarter are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1972. Watch Dames Quarter change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dames Quarter’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Dames Quarter on the map, 1903 to 1972

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

Dames Quarter on the 1903 USGS mapDames Quarter on the 1942 USGS mapDames Quarter on the 1972 USGS map1903Deal Island 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 Dames Quarter.

The story so far

Dames Quarter, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dames Quarter yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Dames Quarter is a census-designated place (CDP) in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. The population was 188 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1858. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 167 to 142 (-15%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Dames Quarter, 1858 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Dames Quarter post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1998Post officeThe Dames Quarter post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Dames Quarter had its own post office from 1858 to 1998.

Dames Quarter
1858–1998
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bethel
Gone or out of use
Dames Quarter Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Chance2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDeal Island9 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dames Quarter’s history

What year was Dames Quarter founded?

The Dames Quarter post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.