Frederick dates to 1745, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #14 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Schifferstadt (aka Scheifferstadt), a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 2,750 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1785.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Frederick’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frederick is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #14 of 261 in Maryland. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frederick’s overall grade.
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 Frederick’s 334 sits above most of its state (88% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 2,786 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1745.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Frederick’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Located where Catoctin Mountain, the easternmost ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, meets the rolling hills of the Piedmont region, the Frederick area became a crossroads long before European explorers and traders arrived.
The earliest European settlement was slightly north of Frederick in Monocacy, Maryland. Monocacy was founded before 1730 (when the Indian trail became a wagon road) and was abandoned before the American Revolutionary War, likely due to the river's periodic flooding, hostilities predating the French and Indian War, or simply Frederick's better location with easier access to the Potomac River near its confluence with the Monocacy.
The growing condition of the "settlement" required better postal facilities, and in or about the year 1820 a post-office, with a weekly mail, was established between this point and Frederick City. In the selection of a name that might also designate its locality, the name of Union Bridge was chosen, after which time the village began to be called " Union Bridge Post-office," and then only " Union Bridge," and the name of Butters-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Strawbridge Pipe Creek, or Sam's Creek, Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1760, in Frederick County (now Carroll), the birthplace of American MethodLsm. At that time Frederick embraced the counties of Montgomery, Washington, Allegany, Carroll, and Garrett, and in 1774 appeared the first record of the Frederick Circuit, which was in less than a hundred years to expand until it encircled
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Frederick, 1745 to 2016
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Frederick. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Ijamsville 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 Frederick.
Every building
Frederick, building by building, 1887–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1745, according to Wikidata. Frederick’s post office opened in 1785, and the census of 1820 counted 3,640 people here.
How does Frederick rank for history?
Frederick is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #14 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 Frederick?
16 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Schifferstadt (aka Scheifferstadt) (a National Historic Landmark since 2016) and the Hessian Barracks (listed 1971, the first), 2 historic districts, the Frederick Historic District and the Hood College Historic District, with 2,750 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 2,786 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Frederick?
12% of Frederick’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 1991.
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 Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (16), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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