Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Edgewater

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
C+History
History · Edgewater

Edgewater’s post office opened in 1893, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns · #119 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Edgewater was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1892 on.

1893first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Edgewater began

When was Edgewater founded?

1893

The Edgewater post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 9,446133 years

How historic is Edgewater?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Edgewater’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgewater is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #119 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edgewater’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.0% of homes (±6.2) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 55%

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 Edgewater’s 1.2 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 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 Edgewater’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 Edgewater are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Edgewater change.Lost villages12 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including London Town Publik House, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edgewater’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Edgewater on the map, 1892 to 1993

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

Edgewater on the 1892 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1905 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1944 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1957 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1970 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1993 USGS map1892Owensville 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 Edgewater.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Edgewater’s post office has been open since 1893.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Chestnut HillsEdgewater BeachHazelwoodLondontown TerraceLondontowneOakbluffPine Whiff BeachSouth Down ShoresSouthdown EstatesSteuart CornerSteuart LevelWoodland Beach

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

The story so far

Edgewater, in brief

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

Edgewater is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,023 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,023 to 9,446 (+5%).

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

Timeline

Edgewater, 1892 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1893Post officeThe Edgewater post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1960Born hereJoseph L. Osterman is born here
  6. 1970LandmarkLondon Town Publik House named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Edgewater, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Lake View, Gresham Estate2018Lake View, Gresham EstateAttic, Gresham Estate2018Attic, Gresham EstateLittle Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (3)2016Little Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (3)Little Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (2)2016Little Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (2)Little Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (1)2016Little Chrysopilus - Flickr - treegrow (1)Getting too close to the ant nest - Flickr - treegrow (1)2016Getting too close to the ant nest - Flickr - treegrow…Blotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrow2016Blotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrowBlotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrow (2)2016Blotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrow…Blotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrow (1)2016Blotch mines on tulip poplar leaf - Flickr - treegrow…2016-08-18 10 35 11 View east along Maryland State Route 553 (South River Road) at Slama Road in Edgewater, Anne Arunde…20162016-08-18 10 35 11 View east along Maryland State Ro…Old Mill Swamp2012Old Mill Swamp
On the National Register

1 historic place in Edgewater

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
London Town Publik House
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
London Town Publik House
London Town Publik House★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
★ Landmark
London Town Publik HouseGeorgian

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.

RivaIts storyDMayo1 historic placeCAnnapolis NeckIts storyC−Parole1 historic placeC−

Questions about Edgewater’s history

What year was Edgewater founded?

The Edgewater post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Edgewater rank for history?

Edgewater is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns, #119 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.

What is on the National Register in Edgewater?

One place: the London Town Publik House (listed 1970).

How old are the homes in Edgewater?

7% of Edgewater’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.