Owings Mills’ post office opened in 1833, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #56 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Owings Mills was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1960.
From Owings Mills’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Owings Mills began
When was Owings Mills founded?
1833
The Owings Mills post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, McDonogh (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,810 in 19602020 census: 35,674193 years
How historic is Owings Mills?
B+
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Owings Mills post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Owings Mills’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Owings Mills is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #56 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Owings Mills’ 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 Owings Mills’ 14.8 sits above most of its state (72% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Owings Mills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Owings Mills’s post office has been open since 1833. Another post office, McDonogh, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Owings Mills
1833–today
McDonogh
1882–1953
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Academy LaneAllyson GardensBelltownCedarmereDeer ParkDunbarGarrison ForestGarrison RidgeHewitt FarmsLyonswoodMcDonoghMorningside HeightsPleasant HillRolling RidgeSarawoodsSilverbrook FarmThe Chase at FoxridgeThe MeadowsTollgateVillage of Painters MillWorthington Place South
1cemetery inside Owings Mills
Saint Thomas
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Owings Mills on the map, 1892 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Owings Mills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Ellicott 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 Owings Mills.
On the National Register
4 listings protect 55 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Owings Mills, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Owings Mills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus of the Baltimore Metro Subway, and housed the Owings Mills Mall until its closure in 2015. It is also home to the Baltimore Ravens' headquarters facility, and the studios for Maryland Public Television. In 2008, CNNMoney.com named Owings Mills number 49 of the "100 Best Places to Live and Launch".
Its first post office opened in 1833. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 30,622 to 35,674 (+16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Owings Mills, 1833 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Owings Mills post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Owings Mills rank for history?
Owings Mills is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #56 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.
What is on the National Register in Owings Mills?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the St. Thomas Church (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Caves Valley Historic District, with 42 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Owings Mills?
3% of Owings Mills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
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