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History · Downsville

Downsville’s post office opened in 1855, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Downsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Downsville began

When was Downsville founded?

1855

The Downsville post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 341171 years
Founding year: the first Downsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Downsville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Downsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDownsville MD: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Downsville, in brief

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

Downsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Washington County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 355 as of the 2010 census. It is located southeast of Williamsport on Maryland Route 63 and on Maryland Route 632, southwest of Hagerstown. It is officially included in the Hagerstown Metropolitan Area (Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 355 to 341 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Downsville, 1855 to 1903

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Downsville post office opens
  3. 1877Born hereSimon L. Downey is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Downsville post office closes
By decade

Downsville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Downsville MDDate?Downsville MD
Today5 recent
2020-05-29 16 58 46 View south along Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) at Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pi…20202020-05-29 16 58 46 View south along Maryland State R…2020-05-29 16 57 30 View north along Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) at Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pi…20202020-05-29 16 57 30 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-29 11 49 23 View south at the south end of Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pike) at Maryland State Route 6…20162016-07-29 11 49 23 View south at the south end of Ma…2016-07-29 11 49 16 View south at the south end of Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pike) at Maryland State Route 6…20162016-07-29 11 49 16 View south at the south end of Ma…2016-05-05 10 55 10 View north along Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pike) at Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Ro…20162016-05-05 10 55 10 View north along Maryland State R…
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.

Downsville MD
Retake this viewDownsville MD

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Downsville had its own post office from 1855 to 1903.

Downsville
1855–1903
18501940today

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

Questions about Downsville’s history

What year was Downsville founded?

The Downsville post office opened in 1855, 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 →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.