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DHistory
History · North Potomac

Half of North Potomac’s homes were built after 1988

More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #246 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of North Potomac was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1970.

0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From North Potomac’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About North Potomac’s history

How historic is North Potomac?

D

More historic than 5% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives North Potomac’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Potomac is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #246 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Potomac’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.4) · 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 5%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 6%

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 North Potomac’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.

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 North Potomac’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages12 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19086 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1984. Watch North Potomac change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Potomac’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDarnestown - Hunting Hill 1878: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Fox Hills GreenFox Hills NorthLakewood EstatesMills FarmMills Farm EastMountain View EstatesPotomac ChasePotomac GroveQuince Orchard KnollsStonebridgeThe Willows of PotomacWindmill Farm

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

North Potomac on the map, 1908 to 1984

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

North Potomac on the 1908 USGS mapNorth Potomac on the 1945 USGS mapNorth Potomac on the 1951 USGS mapNorth Potomac on the 1965 USGS mapNorth Potomac on the 1971 USGS mapNorth Potomac on the 1984 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 North Potomac.

The story

How North Potomac came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of North Potomac.

Read it all →

Captain John Smith explored the Potomac River in 1608 and mapped the area, including land that would become Montgomery County. The first settlements were established in 1688, and were near Rock Creek and what became Rockville. The next stage of settlements was further west along the Potomac near Darnestown and Poolesville. The land had been occupied by Native Americans of the Piscataway Confederation. Modern-day Darnestown Road, which forms the northern border of North Potomac, was a trail of the indigenous Seneca people and is one of the oldest roads in Montgomery County.

ChaptersHistoric places

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

North Potomac, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Darnestown - Hunting Hill 18781879Darnestown - Hunting Hill 1878
Today11 recent
DuFiefMillBarn2020DuFiefMillBarn2020-07-03 16 28 34 View east along Maryland State Route 28 (Darnestown Road) just west of Maryland State Route 124 (Qu…20202020-07-03 16 28 34 View east along Maryland State Ro…TwoHawksInNorthPotomac2019TwoHawksInNorthPotomacNorth Potomac MD US Census2018North Potomac MD US CensusBirdsInNorthPotomac2018BirdsInNorthPotomacPileatedWoodpeckerNorthPotomac2017PileatedWoodpeckerNorthPotomacHawkOnPorchInNorthPotomac2017HawkOnPorchInNorthPotomacDeerInNorthPotomac2017DeerInNorthPotomacPleasant View, church exterior2016Pleasant View, church exteriorNorth Potomac, United States (Unsplash)2016North Potomac, United States (Unsplash)NorthPotomac2005NorthPotomac
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Darnestown - Hunting Hill 1878
Retake this viewDarnestown - Hunting Hill 1878, 1879

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on North Potomac’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

North Potomac, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000198020002020Peak: 24,410

Between 12,546 and 24,410 people in every census since 1970.

5 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Potomac’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Travilah1 historic placeC−DarnestownIts storyC−Gaithersburg5 historic placesC+Rockville11 historic placesA−

Questions about North Potomac’s history

How does North Potomac rank for history?

North Potomac is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #246 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 North Potomac?

0.5% of North Potomac’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.