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C+History
History · Laurel

Laurel dates to 1870, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #116 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Laurel was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Laurel Railroad Station, the Laurel High School and the Avondale Mill. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1870.

1870founded
3on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Laurel’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Laurel began

When was Laurel founded?

1870

Laurel dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,148 in 18702020 census: 30,060156 years

How historic is Laurel?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Laurel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Laurel is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #116 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.0% of homes (±1.8) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 56%

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 Laurel’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Laurel’s past

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

On the map since 18928 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1981. Watch Laurel change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Laurel, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersRoy Horan, Juliette Whittaker and 17 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the map

Laurel on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

Laurel on the 1892 USGS mapLaurel on the 1907 USGS mapLaurel on the 1926 USGS mapLaurel on the 1944 USGS mapLaurel on the 1951 USGS mapLaurel on the 1965 USGS mapLaurel on the 1971 USGS mapLaurel on the 1981 USGS map1892Laurel 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 Laurel.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Laurel’s post office has been open since 1875. Another post office, Laurel Factory, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Laurel Factory
1837–1875
Laurel
1875–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carriage HillLaurel OaksScotchtown HillsSteward ManorStonewoodWilshire
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Laurel
Ivy HillSaint Mary of the MillSaint Philips

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

Famous people

19 famous people were born in Laurel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Roy HoranAmerican actor · b. 1950
Juliette WhittakerAmerican middle-distance runner · b. 2003
Tiffany McCartyAmerican soccer player · b. 1990
E
Emory KristofAmerican photographer · b. 1942
B
Bill GreenAmerican hammer thrower · b. 1960
L
Louis CarterAmerican football player · b. 1953
The story

How Laurel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Laurel.

Read it all →

Many dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous Era are preserved in a 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) park in Laurel. The site, which among other finds has yielded fossilized teeth from Astrodon and Priconodon species, has been called the most prolific in the eastern United States.

From the Late Glacial age in 10,700 B.C. to 8,500 B.C., Laurel's climate warmed and changed from a spruce forest to a hardwood forest. In the Late Archaic period from 4,000 to 1,000 B.C., Laurel would have been covered primarily with an oak and hickory forest.

ChaptersNatural historyPre-20th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Laurel, 1837 to 2003

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Laurel Factory post office opens
  3. 1870
    FoundingLaurel is established
  4. 1875Post officeThe Laurel Factory post office closes
  5. 1875Post officeThe Laurel post office opens
  6. 1878In the archiveAtlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland
  7. 1884BuiltLaurel Railroad Station is built
  8. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1899BuiltLaurel High School is built
  10. 20th century
  11. 1912In the archiveAuto races
  12. 1942Born hereEmory Kristof is born here
  13. 1950Born hereRoy Horan is born here
  14. 1990Born hereTiffany McCarty is born here
  15. 21st century
  16. 2003Born hereJuliette Whittaker is born here
By decade

Laurel, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the County of Prince George, Maryland1878Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including t…MapAtlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including the county of Montgomery, Maryland1879Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington, including t…Map
1910s8 items
Auto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto racesAuto races1912Auto races
1920s–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
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.

Auto races
Retake this viewAuto races, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Laurel

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Laurel Railroad Station
Laurel Railroad Station, built 1884Laurel High School, built 1899Avondale Mill
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian Revival1
Laurel Railroad StationBuilt 1884
Laurel High SchoolGeorgian Revival · Built 1899
Avondale MillBuilding

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

People over time

Laurel, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,0001880190019201940196019802000202030,060

Grew from 1,148 people in 1870 to 30,060 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Laurel’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAuto races: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Maryland CityIts storyDKonterraIts storyDSouth Laurel4 historic placesC+North LaurelIts storyD−West LaurelIts storyD

Questions about Laurel’s history

What year was Laurel founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Laurel’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 1,148 people here.

How does Laurel rank for history?

Laurel is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #116 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 Laurel?

Three places: the Laurel Railroad Station (listed 1973), the Laurel High School (1979) and the Avondale Mill (1979).

How old are the homes in Laurel?

6% of Laurel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.