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Spacecraft Magnetic Test FacilitySpacecraft Magnetic Test Facility · Photo: SlowTimeEnvelope · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−History
History · Glenn Dale

Glenn Dale’s post office opened in 1876, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #74 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Glenn Dale was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1980.

1876first post office
3on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glenn Dale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glenn Dale began

When was Glenn Dale founded?

1876

The Glenn Dale post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Magruder's (1817) and Good Luck (1830), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 5,106 in 19802020 census: 14,698150 years

How historic is Glenn Dale?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Glenn Dale post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Glenn Dale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenn Dale is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #74 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glenn Dale’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.5% of homes (±4.8) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 20 historic buildings, 14.5 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 72%

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 Glenn Dale’s 14.5 sits above most of its state (72% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 20 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 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 Glenn Dale’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Glenn Dale, and 8 old place names are still on the map.Mystery photos17 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Glenn Dale change.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Glenn Dale’s post office has been open since 1876. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Magruder's
1817–1830
Good Luck
1830–1876
Glenn Dale
1876–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BellBrooklandGlendale HeightsGood LuckHigh Bridge EstatesHillmeadeHillmeade ManorLincoln
Gone or out of use
Dorsey ChapelchurchFletchertown SchoolschoolGlenn Dale HospitalhospitalPleasant Hope Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Glenn Dale
Holy Trinity Episcopal ChurchSaint Georges Episcopal Chapel

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

Help out

Start Glenn Dale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glenn Dale’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 photo17 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMarietta, 5626 Bell Station Road: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Glenn Dale on the map, 1900 to 1993

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

Glenn Dale on the 1900 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1934 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1944 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1957 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1965 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1971 USGS mapGlenn Dale on the 1993 USGS map1900Washington 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 Glenn Dale.

The story so far

Glenn Dale, in brief

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

Glenn Dale is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,698 at the 2020 census. Glenn Dale is home to the Glenn Dale Hospital, an abandoned sanatorium, and the USDA Plant Introduction Station.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 13,466 to 14,698 (+9%).

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

Timeline

Glenn Dale, 1817 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1817Post officeThe Magruder's post office opens
  3. 1830Post officeThe Magruder's post office closes
  4. 1830Post officeThe Good Luck post office opens
  5. 1876Post officeThe Good Luck post office closes
  6. 1876Post officeThe Glenn Dale post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1998Born hereKaila Charles is born here
  10. 1999Born hereJaret Patterson is born here
By decade

Glenn Dale, decade by decade

Date unknown17 to date
Marietta, 5626 Bell Station RoadDate?Marietta, 5626 Bell Station RoadMarietta, Root Cellar-Ice HouseDate?Marietta, Root Cellar-Ice HouseMarietta, Law Office, 5626 Bell Station RoadDate?Marietta, Law Office, 5626 Bell Station RoadU.S. Plant Introduction Station, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, 11601 Old Pond RoadU.S. Plant Introduction Station, Cottages, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Cottages, 11601 Old …U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Landscape, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Landscape, 11601 Old…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Pumphouses, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Pumphouses, 11601 Ol…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Packing Shed, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Packing Shed, 11601 …U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Quarantine Screenhouse, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Quarantine Screenhou…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Main Building, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Main Building, 11601…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Barn & Shed Buildings, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Barn & Shed Building…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Quarantine Headhouses & Greenhouses, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Quarantine Headhouse…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Building Nos. 13-17, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Building Nos. 13-17,…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Greenhouse Nos. 1 & 2, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Greenhouse Nos. 1 & …U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Greenhouse Nos. 3-8, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Greenhouse Nos. 3-8,…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Soil Conservation Service Cluster, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Soil Conservation Se…U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Main Headhouse & Lean-to Greenhouses, 11601 Old Pond RoadDate?U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Main Headhouse & Lea…
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.

Marietta, 5626 Bell Station Road
Retake this viewMarietta, 5626 Bell Station Road

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 20 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
20
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Marietta
MariettaThomas J. Calloway HouseGlenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanatorium
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Foursquare1
Colonial Revival1
MariettaFederal
Thomas J. Calloway HouseFoursquare
Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital and SanatoriumColonial Revival

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

People over time

Glenn Dale, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00019802000202014,698

Grew from 5,106 people in 1980 to 14,698 in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Glenn Dale

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

See all →
Kaila CharlesAmerican basketball player · b. 1998
Jaret PattersonAmerican football player · b. 1999
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bowie6 historic placesCLanhamIts storyDFairwoodIts storyDSeabrookIts storyDMitchellvilleIts storyD−

Questions about Glenn Dale’s history

What year was Glenn Dale founded?

The Glenn Dale post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glenn Dale rank for history?

Glenn Dale is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #74 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 Glenn Dale?

Three places: the Marietta (listed 1994), the Thomas J. Calloway House (2005) and the Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanatorium (2011).

How old are the homes in Glenn Dale?

10% of Glenn Dale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 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.

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 the Library of Congress (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.