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C−History
History · Parkville

Parkville’s post office opened in 1887

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #165 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Parkville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1960.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Parkville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Parkville began

When was Parkville founded?

1887

The Parkville post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lavander Hill (1876) and Baynesville (1882), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 27,236 in 19602020 census: 31,812139 years

How historic is Parkville?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Parkville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Parkville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Parkville is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #165 of 261 in Maryland. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Parkville’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.5% of homes (±1.6) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 24%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 37%

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 Parkville’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Parkville’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Parkville, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1974. Watch Parkville change.Old housesHalf of Parkville’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Parkville had its own post office from 1887 to 1896. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lavander Hill
1876–1887
Baynesville
1882–1904
Parkville
1887–1896
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ashlar HillBaynesvilleHarford ParkHillendaleHillendale FarmsHillendale ParkKings RidgeLaureldaleLoch Raven HeightsLoch Raven VillageOakleigh ManorParkside HeightsParkville HeightsPerring VillageRidge GroveRidgeleighRollins View GreenVilla Cresta
Gone or out of use
Hillendale Golf CourselocaleParkville Public Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Parkville
Moreland Memorial ParkOakleigh Pet

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Parkville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Parkville on the map, 1894 to 1974

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

Parkville on the 1894 USGS mapParkville on the 1904 USGS mapParkville on the 1944 USGS mapParkville on the 1957 USGS mapParkville on the 1966 USGS mapParkville on the 1974 USGS map1894Baltimore 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 Parkville.

The story so far

Parkville, in brief

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

Parkville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 30,734.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 30,734 to 31,812 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Parkville, 1876 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Lavander Hill post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Baltimore County - Parkville - ED 3-56…
  4. 1882Post officeThe Baynesville post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Lavander Hill post office closes
  6. 1887Post officeThe Parkville post office opens
  7. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1896Post officeThe Parkville post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1904Post officeThe Baynesville post office closes
  11. 1956In the archiveBge30842 kingsrdg 1956sep14bCROP8x10cropmod
By decade

Parkville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Baltimore County - Parkville - ED 3-56A, ED 3-56B, ED 3-56C, ED 3-77…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Ba…
1890s–1940snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1950s1 item
Bge30842 kingsrdg 1956sep14bCROP8x10cropmod1956Bge30842 kingsrdg 1956sep14bCROP8x10cropmod
1960s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today16 recent
The Bel-Loc Diner, front2016The Bel-Loc Diner, frontThe Bel-Loc Diner, front2016The Bel-Loc Diner, frontThe Bel-Loc Diner, angled2016The Bel-Loc Diner, angled2016-07-28 12 49 42 View north along Maryland State Route 542 (Loch Raven Boulevard) at Loch Hill Road in20162016-07-28 12 49 42 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-28 11 36 46 View north along Maryland State Route 147 (Harford Road) at Linganore Avenue in20162016-07-28 11 36 46 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-27 18 53 40 View north along Maryland State Route 41 (Perring Parkway) just north of Taylor Avenue in20162016-07-27 18 53 40 View north along Maryland State R…Snowy Sentinels2015Snowy SentinelsParkville Welcome Sign2015Parkville Welcome SignImmaculate Reflection2015Immaculate ReflectionNear Infrared2013Near InfraredFall Walk2013Fall WalkDevotional2013DevotionalMaryland State Route 147 2012-06-24 16 372012Maryland State Route 147 2012-06-24 16 37Constable2012ConstablePresident Obama at Parkville Middle School2011President Obama at Parkville Middle SchoolMDMap-doton-Parkville2004MDMap-doton-Parkville
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Baltimore County - Parkville - ED 3-56A, ED 3-56B, ED 3-56C, ED 3-77…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Baltimore County - Parkville - ED 3-56A, ED 3-56B, ED 3-56C, ED 3-77…, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Parkville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001960198020002020Peak: 35,159

Between 27,236 and 35,159 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Towson18 historic placesABaltimore307 historic placesA+OverleaIts storyC−CarneyIts storyC−

Questions about Parkville’s history

What year was Parkville founded?

The Parkville post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Parkville rank for history?

Parkville is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #165 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 Parkville?

8% of Parkville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (18), 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.