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History · National

National’s post office opened in 1905, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How National began

When was National founded?

1905

The National post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 52121 years
Founding year: the first National post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about National’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 National are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18986 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1998. Watch National change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start National’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how National’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

National on the map, 1898 to 1998

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

National on the 1898 USGS mapNational on the 1901 USGS mapNational on the 1950 USGS mapNational on the 1974 USGS mapNational on the 1981 USGS mapNational on the 1998 USGS map1898Frostburg 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 National.

The story so far

National, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of National yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

National is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 56. National is located in the Georges Creek Valley of western Allegany County along Maryland Route 936, 4 miles (6 km) south of Frostburg.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 56 to 52 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

National, 1898 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe National post office opens
  5. 1942Post officeThe National post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

National had its own post office from 1905 to 1942.

National
1905–1942
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Carlos Junction

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.

WoodlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShaftIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOceanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about National’s history

What year was National founded?

The National post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.