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History · Deer Park

Deer Park was first counted by the census in 1880, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Pennington Cottage and the Glamorgan. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Deer Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Deer Park began

When was Deer Park founded?

1880

Deer Park first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 195 in 18802020 census: 303146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Deer Park’s past

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

On the map since 18995 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1981. Watch Deer Park change.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1885–1922.Boom and bustPeaked at 486 in 1980; 303 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the map

Deer Park on the map, 1899 to 1981

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

Deer Park on the 1899 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1900 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1948 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1974 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1981 USGS map1899Oakland 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 Deer Park.

By decade

Deer Park, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s14 items
Annual meeting, American Society of Civil Engineers1885Annual meeting, American Society of Civil EngineersFerns1890FernsDeer Park Hotel1892Deer Park HotelGarrett Cottage1892Garrett CottageWilliams Cottage1892Williams CottageLatrobe Cottage1892Latrobe CottageBeale Cottage1892Beale CottageDavis Cottage1892Davis CottageDeer Park Hotel - Main House1892Deer Park Hotel - Main HouseDeer Park Hotel - East House1892Deer Park Hotel - East HouseDeer Park Hotel - West House1892Deer Park Hotel - West HouseT. Harrison Garrett's Cottage1892T. Harrison Garrett's CottageT. Harrison Garret's [i.e. Garrett] Cottage1892T. Harrison Garret's [i.e. Garrett] CottageT. Harrison Garrett's Cottage1892T. Harrison Garrett's Cottage
1920s3 items
New golf links1922New golf linksNew golf links1922New golf linksDeer Park Hotel, chapel1922Deer Park Hotel, chapel
1930s–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
People over time

Deer Park, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 486

Peaked at 486 in 1980; 303 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Deer Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deer Park.

Read it all →

The town of Deer Park traces its history back to the 1770s, long before Garrett County was established. The town was part of property owned by Lord Baltimore and was originally surveyed on April 14, 1774. Deer Park saw immense growth during the mid to late 1880s, primarily because of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The Deer Park Hotel, constructed in 1872, served as the focal point for visitors who came to the mountaintop to enjoy the area's scenery and cool temperatures during the summer months. Numerous large cottages were subsequently erected and made available to wealthy visitors.

President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland spent the first night of their honeymoon in Deer Park, June 3, 1886.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deer Park, 1885 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885In the archiveAnnual meeting, American Society of Civil Engineers
  3. 1890In the archiveFerns
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1922In the archiveNew golf links
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 486
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.

Annual meeting, American Society of Civil Engineers
Retake this viewAnnual meeting, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1885

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Deer Park

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Pennington Cottage
Pennington CottageGlamorgan
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Shingle Style1
Queen Anne1
Pennington CottageShingle Style
All 2 listings
GlamorganBuilding · listed 1984

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Deer Park

Nobody well known was born in Deer Park itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
H
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.American literary critic, professor and histori… · b. 1950
D
Don RedmanAmerican musician · b. 1900
Jonathan P. DolliverAmerican politician · b. 1858
William G. ConleyGovernor of West Virginia · b. 1866
Darvin MoonAmerican poker player · b. 1963
William M. O. DawsonAmerican politician · b. 1853
Help out

Finish Deer Park’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAnnual meeting, American Society of Civ…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Deer Park’s history

What year was Deer Park founded?

The Deer Park post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Deer Park?

Two places: the Pennington Cottage (listed 1976) and the Glamorgan (1984).

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 the Library of Congress (17), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.