Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1930.
Edmonston dates its founding to 1924 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edmonston is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Edmonston’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.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edmonston’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Edmonston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Edmonston.
From Wikipedia’s history of Edmonston.
The present-day Edmonston area probably acquired its name from Edmonston Road, the main road running along its southeast border, which was named for the Edmonston family who owned a great deal of land in the area. Members had been active in local Revolutionary War effort and were descendants of the Family Edmonstone of Duntreath Castle, Scotland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyGrew from 717 people in 1930 to 1,617 in 2020.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Edmonston’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Edmonston itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Edmonston had its own post office from 1925 to 1939.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1924, according to Wikidata. Edmonston’s post office opened in 1925, and the census of 1930 counted 717 people here.
Edmonston is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. 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.
21% of Edmonston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.8 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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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