Garrison’s post office opened in 1872, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #138 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Garrison was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listing is the Wester Ogle.
How Garrison began
When was Garrison founded?
The Garrison post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Green Spring (1832), Morrison (1887) and Tobins (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
How historic is Garrison?
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
What drives Garrison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garrison is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #138 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Garrison’s 2.1 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
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 →
1 historic place in Garrison
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Architectural styles listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Garrison had its own post office from 1872 to 1884. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Garrison’s history
What year was Garrison founded?
The Garrison post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Garrison rank for history?
Garrison is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Garrison?
One place: the Wester Ogle (listed 1985).
How old are the homes in Garrison?
2% of Garrison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1990.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.