More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #250 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Lexington Park was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lexington Park’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lexington Park is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #250 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lexington Park’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 Lexington Park’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 range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1943.
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 Lexington Park’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Lexington Park’s post office has been open since 1947. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Millstone
1876–1878
Jarboesville
1878–1932
Hermanville
1898–1956
Pearson
1901–1947
Lexington Park
1947–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cedar CoveColony SquareEssex SouthForest ParkHermanvilleHunting Neck WoodsJonestownPatuxent ParkSherlock Mobile Home EstatesSouthamptonSouthgateSpring Valley
Gone or out of use
Hermanville Post Officepost officePearson Post Officepost officeTurkey Neck Housebuilding
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Lexington Park on the map, 1892 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lexington Park. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Drum Point 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 Lexington Park.
Native American peoples inhabited the area as early as 3500 B.C. At the time of the arrival of the first colonists, the area was inhabited by various tribes and polities such as the Piscataway Confederacy, Yaocomico, Mattawoman, Pamunkey, Mattaponi and Nanjemoy.
The area was expanded into by "planters" (mostly tobacco farmers) who moved into the area as the original settlement in St. Mary's City grew. Early plantations were first farmed by indentured and free labor, but in the late 1600s slavery began to establish itself in Maryland and the character of farming changed due to this. Wealth was concentrated in very few hands and small free farmers and laborers were pushed out or "down" (into poverty) due to competition with slave labor.
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.
In 1943, according to Wikidata. Lexington Park’s post office opened in 1876, and the census of 2000 counted 11,021 people here.
How does Lexington Park rank for history?
Lexington Park is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #250 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 Lexington Park?
0.9% of Lexington Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (18), 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.
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1936
2019
2019
2016
2016
2008
2002
2002