The story
Read it all →How Lanham came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lanham.
The Thomas J. Calloway House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Lanham
Half of Lanham’s homes were built after 1972
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #211 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Lanham was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1900 on.
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
13famous people
Quick answers
About Lanham’s history
How historic is Lanham?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Lanham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lanham is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #211 of 261 in Maryland. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lanham’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.9) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MD town 0.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 12%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 19%
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 Lanham’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Lanham’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lanham, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Lanham change.Famous sons and daughtersChinanu Onuaku, Lio Rush and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Lanham’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lanham’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Buena Vista
Seabrook
Rollins
Lanham-Seabrook
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buena VistaCherry GroveRolling ViewSeabrookWestgate
Gone or out of use
McGregors School Houseschool
1cemetery inside Lanham
Lanham United Methodist Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Lanham on the map, 1900 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lanham. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Washington sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lanham.
Timeline
Lanham, 1851 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1851Post officeThe Buena Vista post office opens
- 1875Post officeThe Seabrook post office opens
- 1877Post officeThe Buena Vista post office closes
- 20th century
- 1900
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1901Post officeThe Rollins post office opens
- 1902Post officeThe Rollins post office closes
- 1924
In the archiveDe Lux election building and voting booth - 1964Post officeThe Seabrook post office closes
- 1968
Born hereFrank Kratovil is born here - 1994
Born hereLio Rush is born here - 1995
Born hereJosh Awotunde is born here - 1996
Born hereChinanu Onuaku is born here
By decade
Lanham, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1920s3 items
1924
19241930s–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 albumThen & 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.
Retake this viewDe Lux election building and voting booth, 1924
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lanham’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →13 famous people were born in Lanham
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Lanham’s history
How does Lanham rank for history?
Lanham is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #211 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.
How old are the homes in Lanham?
3% of Lanham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1972.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.