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History · Highland Beach

Highland Beach dates to 1893, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Douglass Summer House. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1940.

1893founded
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Highland Beach began

When was Highland Beach founded?

1893

Highland Beach dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 9 in 19402020 census: 118133 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1916.The full story ↓

What stands out about Highland Beach’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 Highland Beach are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1940 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1970. Watch Highland Beach change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Highland Beach’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Highland Beach, census by census

0100194019601980200020209 in 1940Low: 5

Lost a third of its people between 1940 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

On the map

Highland Beach on the map, 1892 to 1970

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

Highland Beach on the 1892 USGS mapHighland Beach on the 1904 USGS mapHighland Beach on the 1944 USGS mapHighland Beach on the 1953 USGS mapHighland Beach on the 1970 USGS map1892Annapolis 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 Highland Beach.

The story

How Highland Beach came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Highland Beach.

Read it all →

Highland Beach was founded in summer 1893 by Maj. Charles Remond Douglass, (Frederick Douglass's son) and his wife, Laura, after they had been turned away from a restaurant at the nearby Bay Ridge resort because of their race. Charles Douglass was a retired military officer who served with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. After being turned away, Maj. Douglass decided to buy beachfront property directly south of Bay Ridge and sell lots to family and friends.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Highland Beach, 1892 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1893
    FoundingHighland Beach is established
  4. 20th century
  5. 1916Post officeThe Highland Beach post office opens
  6. 1966Post officeThe Highland Beach post office closes
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 118
By decade

Highland Beach, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Highland Beach Tour, signs2017Highland Beach Tour, signsHighland Beach Tour, museum2017Highland Beach Tour, museumHighland Beach Tour, museum2017Highland Beach Tour, museumHighland Beach Tour, landscape2017Highland Beach Tour, landscapeHighland Beach Tour, houses2017Highland Beach Tour, housesHighland Beach Tour, exhibit2017Highland Beach Tour, exhibitHighland Beach Tour, building2017Highland Beach Tour, buildingHighland Beach Tour, beach2017Highland Beach Tour, beachHighland Beach Tour, Chesapeake2017Highland Beach Tour, ChesapeakeHighland Beach Tour, Chesapeake2017Highland Beach Tour, ChesapeakeDouglass Summer House Dec 092009Douglass Summer House Dec 09MDMap-doton-HighlandBeach2004MDMap-doton-HighlandBeach
On the National Register

1 historic place in Highland Beach

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
1992
Douglass Summer House
Douglass Summer House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Douglass Summer HouseQueen Anne

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Highland Beach had its own post office from 1916 to 1966.

Highland Beach
1916–1966
19101970today
Gone or out of use
Highland Beach Post Officepost office

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Annapolis NeckIts storyC−

Questions about Highland Beach’s history

What year was Highland Beach founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Highland Beach’s post office opened in 1916, and the census of 1940 counted 9 people here.

What is on the National Register in Highland Beach?

One place: the Douglass Summer House (listed 1992).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.