1 of Oxon Hill’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #153 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Its Register listing is the St. Ignatius Church. Most of Oxon Hill was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oxon Hill is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #153 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oxon Hill’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 Oxon Hill’s 0.6 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.5 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 Oxon Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Oxon Hill was named for the colonial 18th century manor home of Thomas Addison (which burned in 1895 but was replaced in 1929 by a large 49-room neo-Georgian-style home called Oxon Hill Manor, standing on a bluff over the Potomac River). The current Manor is now owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and is used for cultural activities, as well as being rented for weddings and special events. "Oxon" is an abbreviation for the Latin Oxoniensis, meaning "of Oxford." The area now known as Oxon Hill reminded Addison of the area near Oxford, England. The Revolutionary patriot John Hanson died while visiting the first Manor, and may be buried there in an unmarked grave.
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.
Oxon Hill is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #153 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 Oxon Hill?
One place: the St. Ignatius Church (listed 1974).
How old are the homes in Oxon Hill?
3% of Oxon Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), 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) 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.
1879
1933
1933
1936
1936
1936
2006
2004
2000
2000
