Gaithersburg dates to 1765, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #111 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Gaithersburg was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 25 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gaithersburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gaithersburg is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #111 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gaithersburg’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 Gaithersburg’s 4.2 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 29 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1765.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Gaithersburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Gaithersburg was settled in 1765 as a small agricultural settlement known as Log Town near the present-day Summit Hall on Ralph Crabb's 1725 land grant "Deer Park". The northern portion of the land grant was purchased by Henry Brookes, and he built his brick home "Montpelier" there, starting with a log cabin, built between 1780 and 1783. In 1802, Benjamin Gaither built his home on the land. In 1807, Gaither married Brooke's daughter Margaret, and Benjamin and Margaret inherited a portion of Henry Brooke's land prior to his death. By the 1850s the area had ceased to be called Log Town and was known to inhabitants as Gaithersburg.
The Forest Oak Post Office, named for a large tree in the town, was located in Gaither's store in 1851.
Passages that mention Gaithersburg, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Montgomery county, Maryland, from its earliest settlement in 1650 to 1879 ..1879 · page 42Read the page →
Read the text
Deer Park, surveyed for Ralph Crabb, April 10th, 1722, and contained four hundred and seventy acres. It lies oil the ridge separating the head-waters of Muddy Branch from those of Whetstone Branch, and embraces a portion of Gaithersburg, a station on the Metropolitan Railroad, and since its incorporation as a city, has rapidly improved.
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
Gaithersburg, 1765 to 1989
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 Gaithersburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Rockville 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 Gaithersburg.
Every building
Gaithersburg, building by building, 1914–1930
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 1765, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gaithersburg’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1900 counted 547 people here.
How does Gaithersburg rank for history?
Gaithersburg is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #111 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 Gaithersburg?
5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Gaithersburg B & O Railroad Station and Freight Shed (listed 1978, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory and the NIST Historic District, with 25 contributing buildings. 29 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gaithersburg?
2% of Gaithersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
★ Landmark
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