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2016-08-28 13 31 39 View east along Maryland State Route 231 (Burnt Store Road) at Bankers Lane in Hughesville, Charles County, MarylandPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
B−History
History · Hughesville

Hughesville’s post office opened in 1866, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Hughesville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 19 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1892 on.

1866first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hughesville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hughesville began

When was Hughesville founded?

1866

The Hughesville post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,438160 years

How historic is Hughesville?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Hughesville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hughesville is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hughesville’s overall grade.
Founding era1866, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.7% of homes (±4.9) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 20 historic buildings, 95.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

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 Hughesville’s 95.3 sits above most of its state (84% 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 (±4.9 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 Hughesville’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1985. Watch Hughesville change.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hughesville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCharles County, Maryland. For more than…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hughesville on the map, 1892 to 1985

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

Hughesville on the 1892 USGS mapHughesville on the 1911 USGS mapHughesville on the 1944 USGS mapHughesville on the 1956 USGS mapHughesville on the 1974 USGS mapHughesville on the 1985 USGS map1892Brandywine 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 Hughesville.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hughesville’s post office has been open since 1866.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bryantown EstatesHughesville ManorPine Grove EstatesWalnut HillsWoodridge Acres
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hughesville
Old Fields Episcopal ChurchSociety of Friends

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

The story so far

Hughesville, in brief

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

Hughesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,197 at the 2010 census. Truman's Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,197 to 2,438 (+11%).

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

Timeline

Hughesville, 1866 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Hughesville post office opens
  3. 1877Born hereThomas Wyatt Turner is born here
  4. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1941In the archiveCharles County, Maryland. For more than 200 years the people of the Hughesville community…
By decade

Hughesville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Charles County, Maryland. For more than 200 years the people of the Hughesville community have grown1941Charles County, Maryland. For more than 200 years the…Charles County, Maryland. Tobacco being dried in one of the Hughesville warehouses1941Charles County, Maryland. Tobacco being dried in one …
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
2016-08-28 13 58 12 View north along Maryland State Route 381 (Brandywine Road) at Maryland State Route 231 (Prince Fre…20162016-08-28 13 58 12 View north along Maryland State R…2016-08-28 13 53 45 View south along Maryland State Route 381 (Brandywine Road) between Swanson Creek and Archies Place…20162016-08-28 13 53 45 View south along Maryland State R…2016-08-28 13 31 39 View east along Maryland State Route 231 (Burnt Store Road) at Bankers Lane in20162016-08-28 13 31 39 View east along Maryland State Ro…MDMap-doton-Hughesville2004MDMap-doton-Hughesville
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.

Charles County, Maryland. For more than 200 years the people of the Hughesville community have grown
Retake this viewCharles County, Maryland. For more than 200 years the people of the Hughesville community have grown, 1941

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 20 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
20
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Truman's Place
Truman's PlaceHughesville Commercial and Tobacco Warehouse Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Mid-19th Century1
All 2 listings
Truman's PlaceBuilding · listed 1988Hughesville Commercial and Tobacco Warehouse Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Aquasco3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hughesville’s history

What year was Hughesville founded?

The Hughesville post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hughesville rank for history?

Hughesville is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. 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 Hughesville?

Two places: the Truman's Place (listed 1988) and the Hughesville Commercial and Tobacco Warehouse Historic District (2025).

How old are the homes in Hughesville?

7% of Hughesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.