The Deale post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Nutwell (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,943127 years
How historic is Deale?
C−
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Deale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Deale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deale is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #176 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deale’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 Deale’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Deale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Archaeologists have found evidence of nomadic Paleo-Indian tribes in the area dating as far back as 8,000 B.C., with a larger, more permanent campsite in nearby West River dating to 2,000 B.C. Deale was situated in the heart of the hunting territories claimed by the Susquehannock people and within the bounds of the land claimed by the Piscataway people.
European settlers first arrived in Anne Arundel County around 1649 from southeast Virginia during the English Civil War to escape religious persecution. In 1655, they settled Herring Creek, an area that encompasses present-day Deale. They had converted to Quakerism from Puritanism and other Protestant faiths, due to the influence of missionaries that had arrived in the area.
The Deale post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Deale rank for history?
Deale is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #176 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 Deale?
6% of Deale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1980.
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, 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.
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