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B+History
History · Prince Frederick

Prince Frederick dates to 1722, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #44 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Prince Frederick was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listing is the Linden. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1892 on.

1722founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Prince Frederick’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Prince Frederick began

When was Prince Frederick founded?

1722

Prince Frederick dates its founding to 1722 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1824.

2020 census: 3,226304 years

How historic is Prince Frederick?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Prince Frederick’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prince Frederick is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #44 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prince Frederick’s overall grade.
Founding era1722, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19402.4% of homes (±3.4) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 11 historic buildings, 37.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 83%

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 Prince Frederick’s 37.2 sits above most of its state (79% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1722.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Prince Frederick’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1993. Watch Prince Frederick change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Prince Frederick, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1722, 54 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prince Frederick’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prince Frederick’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 viewSouthern Maryland Islamic Center in 198…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Prince Frederick on the map, 1892 to 1993

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

Prince Frederick on the 1892 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1901 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1910 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1938 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1953 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1974 USGS mapPrince Frederick on the 1993 USGS map1892Prince Frederick 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 Prince Frederick.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Prince Frederick’s post office has been open since 1911. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Prince Fredericktown
1824–1911
Prince Frederick
1911–today
Stoakley
1911–1935
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Buckler Trailer ParkCalvert TowneStoakleyTurkey RidgeWatson Estates
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prince Frederick
Saint John Vianney Catholic ChurchSaint Paul'sTrinity

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

The story

How Prince Frederick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Prince Frederick.

Read it all →

Prince Frederick has served as the county seat of Calvert County since 1722, when officials chose a plot of land known as "Williams' Old Field" as the spot for the new county courthouse. (Contemporary references to the piece of land include an upscale dining restaurant named Old Field Inn, and a street in Prince Frederick named "Old Field Lane.") The original courthouse was finally completed in 1732. The town was most likely named for George II's son Frederick, who was Prince of Wales during the time of the town's original conception.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Prince Frederick, 1722 to 1996

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1722
    FoundingPrince Frederick is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1824Post officeThe Prince Fredericktown post office opens
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1911Post officeThe Prince Fredericktown post office closes
  8. 1911Post officeThe Prince Frederick post office opens
  9. 1911Post officeThe Stoakley post office opens
  10. 1913Born hereLouis L. Goldstein is born here
  11. 1935Post officeThe Stoakley post office closes
  12. 1987In the archiveSouthern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (1)
  13. 1994Born hereRyan Meisinger is born here
  14. 1996Born hereJeffrie Long Jr. is born here
By decade

Prince Frederick, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
Southern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (1)1987Southern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (1)Southern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (2)1987Southern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (2)
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
Today10 recent
2020-05-24 12 03 44 View south along Maryland State Route 2 and Maryland State Route 4 (Solomons Island Road) just nort…20202020-05-24 12 03 44 View south along Maryland State R…2020-05-24 11 55 33 View south along Maryland State Route 2 and Maryland State Route 4 (Solomons Island Road) just nort…20202020-05-24 11 55 33 View south along Maryland State R…St John Vianney2019St John VianneyA whale carving2016A whale carving2016-07-20 15 23 34 View east along Maryland State Route 402 (Dares Beach Road) just east of Armory Road in20162016-07-20 15 23 34 View east along Maryland State Ro…2016-07-20 15 15 41 View south along Maryland State Route 765 (Main Street) just south of Church Street in20162016-07-20 15 15 41 View south along Maryland State R…2016-07-20 14 53 45 View west along Maryland State Route 231 (Hallowing Point Road) just west of Maryland State Route 2…20162016-07-20 14 53 45 View west along Maryland State Ro…2016-07-20 14 49 47 View south along Maryland State Route 765 (Main Street) just south of Maryland State Route 2 and Ma…20162016-07-20 14 49 47 View south along Maryland State R…Race and ethnicity 20102011Race and ethnicity 2010Prince Frederick Maryland USA2007Prince Frederick Maryland USA
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.

Southern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (1)
Retake this viewSouthern Maryland Islamic Center in 1987 (1), 1987

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Prince Frederick

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Linden
Linden
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Colonial Revival1
LindenItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Prince Frederick

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Louis L. GoldsteinAmerican politician · b. 1913
Sally Y. JamesonAmerican politician
Jeffrie Long Jr.American politician · b. 1996
Ryan MeisingerBaseball player · b. 1994

Questions about Prince Frederick’s history

What year was Prince Frederick founded?

In 1722, according to Wikidata. Prince Frederick’s post office opened in 1824.

How does Prince Frederick rank for history?

Prince Frederick is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Prince Frederick?

One place: the Linden (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Prince Frederick?

2% of Prince Frederick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 2006.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.