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–Not graded
History · Nikep

Nikep’s post office opened in 1919, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1919first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Nikep began

When was Nikep founded?

1919

The Nikep post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pekin (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 95107 years
Founding year: the first Nikep post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Nikep’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 Nikep are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18985 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1981. Watch Nikep change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nikep’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nikep’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

Nikep on the map, 1898 to 1981

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

Nikep on the 1898 USGS mapNikep on the 1901 USGS mapNikep on the 1950 USGS mapNikep on the 1974 USGS mapNikep on the 1981 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 Nikep.

The story so far

Nikep, in brief

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

Nikep (originally known as Pekin) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 95. Nikep is located in the Georges Creek Valley of western Allegany County, along the old route of Maryland Route 36. Lonaconing is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the northeast, and Westernport is 6.6 miles (10.6 km) to the southwest. The name Nikep was given to the first post office established in the community, because Pekin was already in use at another post office (Pekin, Indiana).

Its first post office opened in 1919. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 116 to 95 (-18%).

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

Timeline

Nikep, 1874 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Pekin post office opens
  3. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1912Post officeThe Pekin post office closes
  6. 1919Post officeThe Nikep post office opens
  7. 1985Post officeThe Nikep post office closes
By decade

Nikep, decade by decade

Today2 recent
2016-06-18 15 07 10 View south along Maryland State Route 935 (Lower Georges Creek Road) between Nikep Street and Mine …20162016-06-18 15 07 10 View south along Maryland State R…2016-06-18 15 04 34 View north along Maryland State Route 935 (Lower Georges Creek Road) near Pekin Street in20162016-06-18 15 04 34 View north along Maryland State R…
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Nikep had its own post office from 1919 to 1985. Another post office, Pekin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pekin
1874–1912
Nikep
1919–1985
18701950today

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.

DetmoldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Nikep’s history

What year was Nikep founded?

The Nikep post office opened in 1919, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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.