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DHistory
History · Layhill

Layhill’s post office opened in 1881

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #207 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Layhill was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1908 on.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Layhill began

When was Layhill founded?

1881

The Layhill post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 5,764145 years

How historic is Layhill?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Layhill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Layhill is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #207 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Layhill’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±1.3) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 13%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 21%

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 Layhill’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Layhill’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 Layhill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19086 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1971. Watch Layhill change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Layhill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Layhill on the map, 1908 to 1971

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

Layhill on the 1908 USGS mapLayhill on the 1923 USGS mapLayhill on the 1945 USGS mapLayhill on the 1951 USGS mapLayhill on the 1965 USGS mapLayhill on the 1971 USGS map1908Rockville 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 Layhill.

The story

How Layhill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Layhill.

Read it all →

A land patent for Lay Hill was issued on August 17, 1716. The size was recorded as 1,298 acres (2.0 sq mi; 5.3 km2). The Northwest Branch ran through the tract, and the Norwood Turnpike passed its entire length. As of 1879, several farms, including those of Abraham Van Horn and A.J. Cashell, were located there.

ChaptersEarly historyOak ChapelIllegal breweryProposed cemeteryRodeoArgyle Country ClubResidential developmentPlaza del Mercado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Layhill, 1881 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Layhill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Layhill post office closes
  5. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1937Born hereVernon Taylor is born here
By decade

Layhill, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Rana clamitans in Maryland2008Rana clamitans in Maryland
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Layhill had its own post office from 1881 to 1905.

Layhill
1881–1905
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Layhill VillageWillson Hills

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.

CloverlyIts storyDGlenmontIts storyCAspen HillIts storyDColesville1 historic placeB−

Questions about Layhill’s history

What year was Layhill founded?

The Layhill post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Layhill rank for history?

Layhill is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #207 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 Layhill?

0.8% of Layhill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (1), 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.