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2016-07-29 11 42 21 View south along Fairplay Road at Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) in Fairplay, Washington County, MarylandPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Fairplay

Fairplay’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Fairplay was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listing is the Marsh Mills. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1944 on.

1857first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairplay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairplay began

When was Fairplay founded?

1857

The Fairplay post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 537169 years
Founding year: the first Fairplay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Fairplay’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 Fairplay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUS 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Fairplay, in brief

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

Fairplay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 580 as of the 2010 census. It is sometimes recognized, along with neighboring Tilghmanton, as Fairplay-Tilghmanton; the two communities share a post office as well as a fire company. Fairplay is located between Hagerstown and Sharpsburg, along Maryland Route 65 and is part of the Hagerstown Metropolitan Area. Marsh Mills was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. According to tradition, Fairplay was so named on account of the welcoming nature of the first settlers.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 580 to 537 (-7%).

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

Timeline

Fairplay, 1857 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Fair Play post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveUS 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal Station to Hagerstown Cover front
  5. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fairplay, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
US 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal Station to Hagerstown Cover front1900sUS 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal Station to Ha…
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
2016-07-29 11 42 21 View south along Fairplay Road at Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) in20162016-07-29 11 42 21 View south along Fairplay Road at…2016-07-29 11 42 18 View north along Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) at Fairplay Road in20162016-07-29 11 42 18 View north along Maryland State R…2016-05-05 10 46 45 View north along Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Road) at Maryland State Route 65 (Sharpsburg Pik…20162016-05-05 10 46 45 View north along Maryland State R…2016-05-05 10 46 15 View north along Maryland State Route 65 (Sharpsburg Pike) at Maryland State Route 63 (Spielman Roa…20162016-05-05 10 46 15 View north along Maryland State R…AC^T in Fairplay (Near Hagerstown and Sharpsburg) MD2010AC^T in Fairplay (Near Hagerstown and Sharpsburg) MD
On the map

Fairplay on the map, 1944 to 1971

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

Fairplay on the 1944 USGS mapFairplay on the 1953 USGS mapFairplay on the 1971 USGS map1944Funkstown sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairplay.

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.

US 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal Station to Hagerstown Cover front
Retake this viewUS 1903 Williamsport MD Fairplay Postal Station to Hagerstown Cover front, 1900s

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fairplay

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Marsh Mills
Marsh Mills
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
All 1 listings
Marsh MillsBuilding · listed 1996

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Fairplay

Nobody well known was born in Fairplay itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
LA KnightAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1982
Dennis ScottAmerican basketball player · b. 1968
Robert LucasGovernor of Ohio · b. 1781
Louis E. McComasAmerican politician · b. 1846
E
Euge GrooveAmerican musical artist · b. 1962
Goodloe ByronAmerican politician from Maryland, US · b. 1929
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
EmmertsvilleTilghmanton Heights

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

TilghmantonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fairplay’s history

What year was Fairplay founded?

The Fairplay post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fairplay?

One place: the Marsh Mills (listed 1996).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.