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History · Gapland

Gapland’s post office opened in 1890, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1944 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gapland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gapland began

When was Gapland founded?

1890

The Gapland post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Claggett's (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 109136 years
Founding year: the first Gapland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Gapland, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gapland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gapland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Washington County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 109 as of the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 109 in 2010, 109 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Gapland, 1883 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Claggett's post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Claggett's post office closes
  4. 1890Post officeThe Gapland post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920In the archiveHerald tour
  7. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1992Post officeThe Gapland post office closes
By decade

Gapland, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s6 items
Herald tour1920Herald tourHerald tour1920Herald tourHerald tour1920Herald tourHerald tour1920Herald tourHerald tour1920Herald tourHerald tour1920Herald tour
1930s–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
Today3 recent
Rohrersville Road Station 8 fire department, Gapland, MD, July 20252025Rohrersville Road Station 8 fire department, Gapland,…2020-05-29 18 37 55 View south along Maryland State Route 67 (Rohrersville Road) at Gapland Road in20202020-05-29 18 37 55 View south along Maryland State R…2020-05-29 10 55 34 View north along Maryland State Route 67 (Rohrersville Road) at Gapland Road in20202020-05-29 10 55 34 View north along Maryland State R…
On the map

Gapland on the map, 1944 to 1994

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

Gapland on the 1944 USGS mapGapland on the 1953 USGS mapGapland on the 1971 USGS mapGapland on the 1994 USGS map1944Keedysville sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gapland.

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.

Herald tour
Retake this viewHerald tour, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Gapland

Nobody well known was born in Gapland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Robert LucasGovernor of Ohio · b. 1781
Jesse B. ThomasAmerican politician · b. 1777
E
Emanuel Willis WilsonAmerican politician · b. 1844
Charlie KellerAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1916
Alexander BotelerAmerican politician · b. 1815
J
Joseph Howard HodgesAmerican Roman Catholic bishop · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Gapland had its own post office from 1890 to 1992. Another post office, Claggett's, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Claggett's
1883–1890
Gapland
1890–1992
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Gapland Post Officepost office

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

Help out

Finish Gapland’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 viewHerald tour: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Gapland’s history

What year was Gapland founded?

The Gapland post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (9), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.