More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #193 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Friendly was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1945 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Friendly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Friendly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Friendly is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #193 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Friendly’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 Friendly’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Friendly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Friendly had its own post office from 1890 to 1909.
Friendly
1890–1909
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Belleair EstatesFriendly HillsOaklawnOld Ford HillsValley View
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Friendly, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Friendly yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Friendly is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with an African-American majority population, located a few miles south of Washington, D.C. The population was 9,937 at the 2020 census. Friendly had its own rural post office in the early 20th century, and is now under the mailing address Fort Washington. The name "Friendly" is most associated with Friendly High School, which serves most of the greater Fort Washington area. The Friendly area was largely rural until about 1960 and has steadily grown with single-family housing developments. At least five new residential neighborhoods are currently under construction in the…
Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,250 to 9,937 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Friendly, 1890 to 1945
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Friendly post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Friendly rank for history?
Friendly is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #193 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.
How old are the homes in Friendly?
2% of Friendly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (2), 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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