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C+History
History · Eldersburg

Eldersburg’s post office opened in 1873, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #112 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Eldersburg was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: maps from 1892 on.

1873first post office
5on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Eldersburg began

When was Eldersburg founded?

1873

The Eldersburg post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Henryton (1873), Gist (1880) and Haight (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 32,582153 years

How historic is Eldersburg?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Eldersburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eldersburg is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #112 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eldersburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.6% of homes (±0.8) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 24 historic buildings, 7.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 57%

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 Eldersburg’s 7.6 sits above most of its state (66% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 24 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Eldersburg’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Eldersburg, and 95 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Eldersburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Eldersburg change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Eldersburg had its own post office from 1873 to 1899. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eldersburg
1873–1899
Henryton
1873–1982
Gist
1880–1899
Haight
1886–1899
Gaithers
1888–1984
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AmberlyArrington EstatesBar-Klee EstatesBeachmont EstatesBerkley EstatesBloomfield ManorBonnie BraeBranton ManorBrass Eagle EstatesBrimfieldBuckingham ManorCandlewickCarmae AcresCarroll DaleCarroll HighlandsCarroll ParkCarroll SquareCarrolltowneCherry CornerClipper Hill EstatesCollins EstatesDaisy MeadowsDogwood EstatesDorsey Hill
Gone or out of use
Gaither Post Officepost officeHenryton Post Officepost officeHenryton State HospitalhospitalHoly Trinity Episcopal ChurchchurchSpringfield Hospital Center Post Officepost officeSpringfield Roller Millslocale
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eldersburg
BennettBethesda United MethodistHarmony GroveHoly TrinityJohnsvilleLake View Memorial ParkNew Oakland United MethodistOld Oakland United MethodistSpringfield State HospitalWesley - FreedomWesley ChapelWhite Rock United Methodist

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

Help out

Start Eldersburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eldersburg’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

Eldersburg on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Eldersburg on the 1892 USGS mapEldersburg on the 1906 USGS mapEldersburg on the 1944 USGS mapEldersburg on the 1953 USGS mapEldersburg on the 1971 USGS map1892Ellicott 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 Eldersburg.

The story

How Eldersburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eldersburg.

Read it all →

Eldersburg is named after John Elder, who was given a land grant from the King of England. The community was served by a post office in April 1850 in the Howard district of Anne Arundel County with the name "Eldersburgh." In 1851, Howard County was formed, and on October 28, 1871, the post office moved to Carroll County, retaining the "Eldersburgh" spelling. In December 1894, "Eldersburgh" was shortened to "Eldersburg". The Moses Brown House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was listed in 1984.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eldersburg, 1873 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Eldersburg post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Henryton post office opens
  4. 1880Post officeThe Gist post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1899Post officeThe Eldersburg post office closes
  7. 1899Post officeThe Gist post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1982Post officeThe Henryton post office closes
By decade

Eldersburg, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2016-08-21 13 01 41 View south along Maryland State Route 904 (Benrose Lane) at the Morgan Run Environmental Area in20162016-08-21 13 01 41 View south along Maryland State R…2016-08-21 12 59 58 View north along Maryland State Route 904 (Benrose Lane) at Jim Bowers Road in20162016-08-21 12 59 58 View north along Maryland State R…2016-08-21 09 27 56 View north along Maryland State Route 97 (Old Washington Road) at Hoods Mill Road in20162016-08-21 09 27 56 View north along Maryland State R…Eldersburg, MD, USA - panoramio (2)2013Eldersburg, MD, USA - panoramio (2)Eldersburg, MD, USA - panoramio (1)2013Eldersburg, MD, USA - panoramio (1)Super Fresh Big Lots - Carrolltown Center2012Super Fresh Big Lots - Carrolltown CenterRichard S. Foster 042012Richard S. Foster 04Fairhaven, Carroll County, MD 20122012Fairhaven, Carroll County, MD 2012Eldersburg, MD, USA2010Eldersburg, MD, USA2010 Census Urbanized Area Reference Map for Westminster--Eldersburg, Maryland20102010 Census Urbanized Area Reference Map for Westmins…BookMoses Brown House2008Moses Brown HouseMDMap-doton-Eldersburg2004MDMap-doton-Eldersburg
On the National Register

5 listings protect 24 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
24
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Branton Manor
Branton ManorMoses Brown HouseWesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal ChurchWarfield Complex, Hubner, and T BuildingsBennett-Kelly Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
Branton ManorFederal
Moses Brown HouseBuilding
Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding
Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T BuildingsLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Bennett-Kelly FarmBuilding

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.

Sykesville3 historic placesC

Questions about Eldersburg’s history

What year was Eldersburg founded?

The Eldersburg post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Eldersburg rank for history?

Eldersburg is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #112 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 Eldersburg?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Branton Manor (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T Buildings, with 14 contributing buildings. 24 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Eldersburg?

3% of Eldersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.