Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Friendsville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Friendsville

Friendsville’s post office opened in 1879, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1910.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Friendsville began

When was Friendsville founded?

1879

The Friendsville post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902.

First census: 466 in 19102020 census: 438147 years
Founding year: the first Friendsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓

What stands out about Friendsville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Friendsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19005 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Friendsville change.Boom and bustPeaked at 607 in 1950; 438 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Friendsville’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Friendsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Friendsville’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

Friendsville on the map, 1900 to 1993

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

Friendsville on the 1900 USGS mapFriendsville on the 1947 USGS mapFriendsville on the 1974 USGS mapFriendsville on the 1981 USGS mapFriendsville on the 1993 USGS map1900Accident 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 Friendsville.

People over time

Friendsville, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 607

Peaked at 607 in 1950; 438 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Friendsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Friendsville.

Read it all →

Friendsville is named after its first European settler, John Friend, who came to what is now Garrett County before the American Revolution. Many of Friend's descendants live in Garrett County today, and the headquarters and library of the Friend Family Association are located in Friendsville due to this connection.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Friendsville, 1879 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Friendsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 607
By decade

Friendsville, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Unique Mill, Exterior2018Unique Mill, ExteriorUnique Mill, Exterior2018Unique Mill, ExteriorUnique Mill, Exterior2018Unique Mill, ExteriorGr.frnv.in.00012018Gr.frnv.in.0001Gr-frnv-ob.00022018Gr-frnv-ob.0002Friendsville Family Association, grant recipient2018Friendsville Family Association, grant recipientFriend Family Association building, exterior2018Friend Family Association building, exteriorYough Valley Motel2015Yough Valley MotelGrace Lutheran Church2015Grace Lutheran ChurchFriendsville, store2015Friendsville, storeFriendsville, house2015Friendsville, houseFriendsville, house2015Friendsville, houseFriendsville, church2015Friendsville, churchFriend Family Association2015Friend Family AssociationOverlook from Maryland Welcome Center2012Overlook from Maryland Welcome CenterYoughioghney River Overlook2011Youghioghney River OverlookFriendsville, stores2005Friendsville, storesFriendsville, building2005Friendsville, building

Questions about Friendsville’s history

What year was Friendsville founded?

The Friendsville post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.

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 (18), Wikipedia, 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.