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History · Georgetown

Georgetown’s post office opened in 1889

Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1901 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Georgetown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Georgetown began

When was Georgetown founded?

1889

The Georgetown post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 117137 years
Founding year: the first Georgetown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Georgetown’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19015 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1973. Watch Georgetown change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Georgetown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Georgetown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAttack upon George & Federick's towns b…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Georgetown on the map, 1901 to 1973

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

Georgetown on the 1901 USGS mapGeorgetown on the 1920 USGS mapGeorgetown on the 1943 USGS mapGeorgetown on the 1953 USGS mapGeorgetown on the 1973 USGS map1901Chestertown 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 Georgetown.

The story so far

Georgetown, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 143 to 117 (-18%).

Timeline

Georgetown, 1813 to 1901

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813In the archiveAttack upon George & Federick's towns by a detachment of boats from The R. Hon. Sir T. B.…
  3. 1861In the archiveAqueduct Bridge
  4. 1889Post officeThe Georgetown post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Georgetown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Attack upon George & Federick's towns by a detachment of boats from The R. Hon. Sir T. B. Warrens squadron under Rear A…1813Attack upon George & Federick's towns by a detachment…
1860s1 item
Aqueduct Bridge1861Aqueduct Bridge
Date unknown2 to date
Wallis House, U.S. Route 213Date?Wallis House, U.S. Route 213Kitty Knight House, U.S. Route 213Date?Kitty Knight House, U.S. Route 213
Today1 recent
Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway - May 6, 1813 or May 6, 2006?2006Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway - May 6, 1813 or May …
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.

Attack upon George & Federick's towns by a detachment of boats from The R. Hon. Sir T. B. Warrens squadron under Rear A…
Retake this viewAttack upon George & Federick's towns by a detachment of boats from The R. Hon. Sir T. B. Warrens squadron under Rear A…, 1813

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fairlee2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Georgetown’s history

What year was Georgetown founded?

The Georgetown post office opened in 1889, 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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), 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.