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B+History
History · Elkridge

Elkridge dates to 1734, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #49 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Elkridge was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1960.

1734founded
4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elkridge began

When was Elkridge founded?

1734

Elkridge dates its founding to 1734 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 7,262 in 19602020 census: 25,171292 years

How historic is Elkridge?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Elkridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkridge is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #49 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elkridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1734, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19402.7% of homes (±1.0) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 12 historic buildings, 4.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 82%

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 Elkridge’s 4.6 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1734.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

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 →

What stands out about Elkridge’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elkridge, and 22 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Elkridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1981. Watch Elkridge change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1734, 42 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Elkridge had its own post office from 1884 to 1896. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hanover
1862–1962
Hanoverville
1881–1896
Elkridge
1884–1896
Elkridge
2000–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Aladdin VillageAladdin Village Trailer ParkCanbury WoodsCapitol Mobile ParkElkridge HeightsElkridge Mobile Home ParkGlen Cove EstatesHanoverHarwood ParkHunt Club EstatesLawyers HillLennox ParkMarble HillMontevideoMontgomery ManorMontgomery WoodsMount AugustineQuail RidgeRockburn CommonsWashington Manor ParkWesley GroveWest Elkridge
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elkridge
BlackstoneGraceMeadow Ridge Memorial ParkRosa Bonheur PetTrinityZion

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

Help out

Start Elkridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkridge’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

Elkridge on the map, 1894 to 1981

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

Elkridge on the 1894 USGS mapElkridge on the 1907 USGS mapElkridge on the 1944 USGS mapElkridge on the 1950 USGS mapElkridge on the 1966 USGS mapElkridge on the 1974 USGS mapElkridge on the 1981 USGS map1894Relay 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 Elkridge.

The story

How Elkridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elkridge.

Read it all →

Elkridge qualifies as the oldest settlement in its present county, when Howard was a part of Anne Arundel County. Its location on the Patapsco River was a key element in its growth. The Maryland General Assembly elected a law to erect a 30-acre (120,000 m2), forty-lot town at the pre-existing settlement of Elkridge Landing to be called "Jansen Town" in 1733. In 1738 an attempt to formalize the town failed with the death of the commissioners before passage. In 1750 a second attempt to formalize the town was attempted around the lands of Phillip Hammond. By comparison, Baltimore Town consisted of only 25 dwellings at that time. A third petition was filed in 1762.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elkridge, 1734 to 1996

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1734
    FoundingElkridge is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1842BuiltLawn, The is built
  5. 1855Born hereEdward Hinkley Plummer is born here
  6. 1857BuiltTrinity Church is built
  7. 1862Post officeThe Hanover post office opens
  8. 1881Post officeThe Hanoverville post office opens
  9. 1884Post officeThe Elkridge post office opens
  10. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1896Post officeThe Hanoverville post office closes
  12. 1896Post officeThe Elkridge post office closes
  13. 20th century
  14. 1922Born hereJack Merson is born here
  15. 1962Post officeThe Hanover post office closes
  16. 1988Born hereDarryl Webb is born here
  17. 1996Born hereImani Dorsey is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

4 historic places in Elkridge

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Trinity Church
Trinity Church, built 1857TroyLawn, The, built 1842Elkridge Furnace Complex
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Eclectic Style1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Trinity ChurchBuilt 1857
TroyGeorgian
Lawn, TheEclectic Style · Built 1842
Elkridge Furnace ComplexFederal

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

People over time

Elkridge, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000196019802000202025,171

Grew from 7,262 people in 1960 to 25,171 in 2020, 3 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Elkridge

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Imani DorseyAmerican soccer player · b. 1996
Darryl WebbAmerican basketball player · b. 1988
Jack MersonAmerican baseball player · b. 1922
Edward Hinkley PlummerUnited States Army general · b. 1855
G
George PoeAmerican chemist · b. 1846
C
Carter ManleyAssociation football player · b. 1996
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Arbutus2 historic placesB−Ilchester2 historic placesB+Jessup1 historic placeC−

Questions about Elkridge’s history

What year was Elkridge founded?

In 1734, according to Wikidata. Elkridge’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1960 counted 7,262 people here.

How does Elkridge rank for history?

Elkridge is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #49 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 Elkridge?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Trinity Church (listed 1974, the first). 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Elkridge?

3% of Elkridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 2006.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.