Founding year: the first Lansdowne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lansdowne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lansdowne is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #92 of 261 in Maryland. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lansdowne’s overall grade.
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 Lansdowne’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (50% 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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 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 Lansdowne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the late 1800s, the Whitaker Iron Company mined for ore in Lansdowne. Abandoned pits from the mining were filled up by underground springs creating small ponds and lakes. Lansdowne was mostly farmland, including the Kessler farm, MacLeod farm and Wades farm.
When the railroad came, Lansdowne became known as a B&O town. Most people worked for the B&O, commuting by train into Baltimore. The first station was named Coursey Station. The Coursey Station senior housing center takes its name from this.
The two main roads were Hammonds Ferry Road and Hollins Ferry Road, both of which led to the Patapsco River where there was once a ferry in operation.
The Lansdowne post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lansdowne rank for history?
Lansdowne is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Lansdowne?
One place: the Hull Memorial Christian Church (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Lansdowne?
15% of Lansdowne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (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.
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