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A+History
History · Frostburg

Frostburg’s post office opened in 1820, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #9 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 356 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1890.

1820first post office
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Frostburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Frostburg began

When was Frostburg founded?

1820

The Frostburg post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,804 in 18902020 census: 7,027206 years

How historic is Frostburg?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Frostburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Frostburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frostburg is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #9 of 261 in Maryland. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frostburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194030.4% of homes (±5.7) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register2 listings, 357 historic buildings, 512 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 97%

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 Frostburg’s 512 sits above most of its state (90% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 357 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). 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 Frostburg’s past

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

A historic districtThe Frostburg Historic District takes in 356 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1922, drew every building in Frostburg.On the map since 18987 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1998. Watch Frostburg change.Deep rootsA post office since 1820: 206 years of Frostburg.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 357 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
357
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Hocking House
Hocking HouseFrostburg Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Italianate2
Queen Anne2
Commercial1
Functional1
Second Empire1
All 2 listings
Hocking HouseBuilding · listed 1982Frostburg Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983

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

Every building

Frostburg, building by building, 1885–1922

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.

Frostburg fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Frostburg on the map, 1898 to 1998

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

Frostburg on the 1898 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1901 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1949 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1951 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1974 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1981 USGS mapFrostburg on the 1998 USGS map1898Frostburg 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 Frostburg.

The story

How Frostburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Frostburg.

Read it all →

Frostburg had its beginnings in 1811 when surveying began for the National Road, a highway which ran west from nearby Cumberland, Maryland. President Thomas Jefferson had authorized construction of the road in 1806. Meshach Frost built the first house in present-day Frostburg in 1812 and named it Highland Hall (on the present-day the site of St. Michael's Church and Rectory). This building was a popular stopping point for celebrities and dignitaries who traveled the National Pike. This would be followed by the Franklin Hotel and other hotels.

ChaptersNational Register Sites1998 Tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Frostburg, 1802 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1802Born hereJames Sprigg is born here
  3. 1820Post officeThe Frostburg post office opens
  4. 1880In the archiveStreet in
  5. 1894Born hereJ. Glenn Beall is born here
  6. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905In the archiveView of Frostburg, Maryland 1905
  9. 1911Born hereLenore Kight is born here
  10. 1926Born hereCharles J. Colgan is born here
By decade

Frostburg, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s11 items
Street in1880Street inView of Frostburg, Maryland 19051905View of Frostburg, Maryland 1905Ladies parlor, Eagles Home1906Ladies parlor, Eagles HomeOpera house1907Opera houseGerman Lutheran Church1907German Lutheran ChurchSt. Cloud Hotel1907St. Cloud HotelState aid road near Frostburg, Md1907State aid road near Frostburg, MdToll gate National Pike1907Toll gate National PikeSt. Johns Episcopal Church1907St. Johns Episcopal ChurchInterior M.E. Church1907Interior M.E. ChurchMother house of St. Michaels Ursuline Convent1907Mother house of St. Michaels Ursuline Convent
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
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.

Street in
Retake this viewStreet in, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Frostburg, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,002

Between 3,804 and 9,002 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Frostburg

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

See all →
Lenore KightAmerican swimmer, Olympic silver medalist · b. 1911
J. Glenn BeallPolitician and United States Army soldier · b. 1894
Charles J. ColganPolitician · b. 1926
J
James SpriggAmerican politician · b. 1802
Michael SpriggAmerican politician · b. 1791
G
George BeallAmerican attorney · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Frostburg’s post office has been open since 1820.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Braddock Estates
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Frostburg
Frostburg Memorial ParkPercySaint Michael's

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

Help out

Finish Frostburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet in: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GrahamtownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEckhart MinesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townZihlman1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Frostburg’s history

What year was Frostburg founded?

The Frostburg post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Frostburg rank for history?

Frostburg is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #9 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 Frostburg?

Two places: the Hocking House (listed 1982) and the Frostburg Historic District (1983).

How old are the homes in Frostburg?

30% of Frostburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1961.

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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.