1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 81 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Market is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Market’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 New Market’s 505 sits above most of its state (89% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 81 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.0 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 New Market’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
When Frederick, Maryland, began being settled in 1745, trade routes between Frederick and Baltimore emerged. Present-day New Market developed along this road, which later was improved. It became known as the National Road and the Gateway to the West. In 1926, U.S. Route 40, a major coast-to-coast highway, was constructed and designated along the former National Road.
Passages that mention New Market, cut from the printed page as they were published.
First settlements of Germans in Maryland. A paper read by Edward T. Schultz before the Frederick County Historical Society, January 17th, 1896, and before the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland, March 17th, 1896. To which items of historic1896Read the page →
Read the text
rived at the Port of Philadelphia on the ship "Samuel," August 17th, 1733, and it is supposed came into Maryland via Lancaster county, soon thereafter. Conrad Kemp, the father, settled in the neighborhood of the present town of New Market, where he subsequently laid out the village Kemptown, in that vicinity. Christian settled south of Frederick on "Ballenger's Creek," on the present Point of Rocks road, on lands in part now owned by the heirs of Christian Thomas. Gilbert and Frederick Kemp
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
New Market, 1800 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
New Market is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. 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 New Market?
One place: the New Market Historic District (listed 1975).
How old are the homes in New Market?
14% of New Market’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.0 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 2005.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2011
2011
2011
2011
