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C+History
History · Halfway

Halfway’s post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #114 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Halfway was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Tammany. Below: maps from 1953 on.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Halfway began

When was Halfway founded?

1887

The Halfway post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 11,896139 years

How historic is Halfway?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Halfway’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Halfway is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #114 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Halfway’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.9% of homes (±4.0) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 57%

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 Halfway’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 Halfway’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Halfway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Halfway’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Halfway had its own post office from 1887 to 1921.

Halfway
1887–1921
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Friendship ParkGreenberry HillsHalfway ManorOak RidgeTammany ManorVan Lear ManorWoodmoor
Gone or out of use
Halfway Public Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Halfway
B'nai Abraham

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

The story so far

Halfway, in brief

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

Halfway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,896 at the 2020 census. It is named due to its location, which is halfway between Hagerstown and Williamsport. Halfway is a major suburb in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,701 to 11,896 (+11%).

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

Timeline

Halfway, 1887 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Halfway post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Post officeThe Halfway post office closes
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Halfway, decade by decade

Today30 recent
I-70 West - Exit 28 - MD6322019I-70 West - Exit 28 - MD632I-70 East - Exit 28 - MD632 Half Mile2019I-70 East - Exit 28 - MD632 Half MileI-70 East - Exit 26B - Interstate 81 North2019I-70 East - Exit 26B - Interstate 81 NorthI-70 East - Exit 26AB - Interstate 81 Ramps2019I-70 East - Exit 26AB - Interstate 81 Ramps2019-08-30 12 01 35 View north along U.S. Route 11 (Virginia Avenue) from the overpass for Interstate 70 in20192019-08-30 12 01 35 View north along U.S. Route 11 (V…2019-08-30 11 56 45 View south along U.S. Route 11 (Virginia Avenue) from the overpass for Interstate 70 in20192019-08-30 11 56 45 View south along U.S. Route 11 (V…2019-07-14 15 28 29 View east along Interstate 70 from the overpass for Bower Avenue in20192019-07-14 15 28 29 View east along Interstate 70 fro…2019-07-14 15 27 49 View west along Interstate 70 from the overpass for Bower Avenue in20192019-07-14 15 27 49 View west along Interstate 70 fro…2019-07-10 12 04 59 View north along Interstate 81 from the overpass for Halfway Boulevard in20192019-07-10 12 04 59 View north along Interstate 81 fr…2019-07-10 12 03 37 View south along Interstate 81 from the overpass for Halfway Boulevard in20192019-07-10 12 03 37 View south along Interstate 81 fr…2019-07-10 11 54 49 View north along Interstate 81 from the overpass for Interstate 70 in20192019-07-10 11 54 49 View north along Interstate 81 fr…2019-07-10 11 52 50 View south along Interstate 81 from the overpass for Interstate 70 in20192019-07-10 11 52 50 View south along Interstate 81 fr…2019-07-10 11 44 17 View north along Interstate 81 from the overpass for U.S. Route 11 (Williamsport Pike) in20192019-07-10 11 44 17 View north along Interstate 81 fr…2019-06-07 10 58 18 View north along Interstate 81 at Exit 5B (Halfway Boulevard WEST) in20192019-06-07 10 58 18 View north along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 10 57 22 View north along Interstate 81 at Exit 5A (Halfway Boulevard EAST) in20192019-06-07 10 57 22 View north along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 10 55 02 View north along Interstate 81 at Exit 4 (Interstate 70, Frederick, Hancock) in20192019-06-07 10 55 02 View north along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 09 35 52 View south along Interstate 81 at Exit 2 (U.S. Route 11, Williamsport) in20192019-06-07 09 35 52 View south along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 09 33 47 View south along Interstate 81 at Exit 4 (Interstate 70, Hancock, Frederick) in20192019-06-07 09 33 47 View south along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 09 30 45 View south along Interstate 81 at Exit 5A (Halfway Boulevard EAST) in20192019-06-07 09 30 45 View south along Interstate 81 at…2019-06-07 09 29 28 View south along Interstate 81 at Exit 5B (Halfway Boulevard WEST) in20192019-06-07 09 29 28 View south along Interstate 81 at…2019-05-18 15 04 28 View east along Interstate 70 at Exit 28 (Maryland State Route 632, Hagerstown, Downsville) in20192019-05-18 15 04 28 View east along Interstate 70 at …2019-05-18 15 01 52 View east along Interstate 70 at Exit 26 (Interstate 81, Roanoke, Harrisburg) in20192019-05-18 15 01 52 View east along Interstate 70 at …2019-05-18 12 42 57 View west along Interstate 70 at Exit 26 (Interstate 81, Harrisburg, Roanoke) in20192019-05-18 12 42 57 View west along Interstate 70 at …2019-05-18 12 39 06 View west along Interstate 70 at Exit 28 (Maryland State Route 632, Hagerstown, Downsville) in20192019-05-18 12 39 06 View west along Interstate 70 at …2016-07-29 15 31 48 View south along U.S. Route 11 (Virginia Avenue) between Halfway Boulevard and Marbern Road in20162016-07-29 15 31 48 View south along U.S. Route 11 (V…2016-07-29 14 30 29 View north along U.S. Route 11 (Virginia Avenue) at Governor Lane Boulevard in20162016-07-29 14 30 29 View north along U.S. Route 11 (V…2016-07-29 10 48 55 View south along Maryland State Route 632 (Downsville Pike) at Garden Lane in20162016-07-29 10 48 55 View south along Maryland State R…Int70eRoad-Exit26-Int81ns2015Int70eRoad-Exit26-Int81nsI-70 East - Exit 28 - MD6322015I-70 East - Exit 28 - MD63270-junction-81200870-junction-81
On the map

Halfway on the map in 1953

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Halfway.

Halfway on the 1953 USGS map1953Williamsport sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Halfway

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Tammany
Tammany
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
TammanyGeorgian

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Halfway

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

See all →
LA KnightAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1982
Dennis ScottAmerican basketball player · b. 1968
Aaron BrooksAmerican wrestler · b. 2000
Louis E. McComasAmerican politician · b. 1846
E
Euge GrooveAmerican musical artist · b. 1962
Goodloe ByronAmerican politician from Maryland, US · b. 1929
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hagerstown24 historic placesA+

Questions about Halfway’s history

What year was Halfway founded?

The Halfway post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Halfway rank for history?

Halfway is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Halfway?

One place: the Tammany (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Halfway?

9% of Halfway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 Wikimedia Commons (30), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.