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A−History
History · Reisterstown

Reisterstown dates to 1758, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #30 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Reisterstown was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 165 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1950.

1758founded
2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Reisterstown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Reisterstown began

When was Reisterstown founded?

1758

Reisterstown dates its founding to 1758 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 2,077 in 19502020 census: 26,822268 years

How historic is Reisterstown?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Reisterstown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Reisterstown is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #30 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Reisterstown’s overall grade.
Founding era1758, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19403.6% of homes (±1.9) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 166 historic buildings, 64.9 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 89%

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 Reisterstown’s 64.9 sits above most of its state (82% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 166 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1758.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

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 Reisterstown’s past

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

A historic districtThe Reisterstown Historic District takes in 165 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Reisterstown, and 15 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1974. Watch Reisterstown change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 166 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
166
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
St. Michael's Church
St. Michael's ChurchReisterstown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Greek Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Bungalow1
St. Michael's ChurchGothic Revival
Reisterstown Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Reisterstown’s post office has been open since 1802. Another post office, Delight, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Reisterstown
1802–today
Delight
1890–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Academy AcresChartleyCherry ValleyCrandonDelightFox Haven EstatesGlyndon GreensHathawayHunters Glen SouthKendig Mill StationOwings RidgeSuburbiaVillage of Timber GroveWestburyWorthington Meadows
1cemetery inside Reisterstown
Saint Lukes

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

Help out

Start Reisterstown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey E. H…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Reisterstown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Reisterstown.

Read it all →

John Reister purchased a 20-acre (81,000 m2) tract of land, which he called "Reister's Desire", along the Conewago Road on March 2, 1758. He built a tavern on the site, providing food, drink and lodging for travelers. Other businesses serving travelers soon followed, creating the settlement known as Reister's Town, and eventually Reisterstown. With the purchase in 1763 of another 83 acres (340,000 m2) adjoining the original property, Reister began developing both sides of Conewago Road, later renamed Reisterstown Road.

ChaptersReister's TownFranklin Academy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Reisterstown, 1758 to 1997

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1758
    FoundingReisterstown is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Post officeThe Reisterstown post office opens
  5. 1862Born hereOvington Weller is born here
  6. 1872Born hereWilliam John Gies is born here
  7. 1890Post officeThe Delight post office opens
  8. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe Delight post office closes
  11. 1936In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, Photographer September 1936 FRONT. BU…
  12. 1977In the archiveGeologic Map of the Reisterstown Quadrangle, Maryland (1977)
  13. 1997Born hereOlivia Gruver is born here
By decade

Reisterstown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Historic American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, Photographer September 1936 FRONT. BUILT ON LAND GRANTED TO REV. TH…1936Historic American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, P…Historic American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, Photographer September 1936 REAR - Ten Mile House, Reisterstown Roa…1936Historic American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, P…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s2 items
Geologic Map of the Reisterstown Quadrangle, Maryland (1977)1977Geologic Map of the Reisterstown Quadrangle, Maryland…MapUSGS Soldiers Delight Serpentine Geologic map1977USGS Soldiers Delight Serpentine Geologic mapMap
1980s–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
Today26 recent
2020-07-29 09 56 02 View north along Maryland State Route 30 (Hanover Pike) just south of Maryland State Route 128 (But…20202020-07-29 09 56 02 View north along Maryland State R…2020-07-29 09 48 40 View north along Maryland State Route 140 (Reisterstown Road) at Shetland Circle in20202020-07-29 09 48 40 View north along Maryland State R…2019-07-17 16 14 29 View north along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) from the overpass for Stocksdale Avenue in20192019-07-17 16 14 29 View north along Interstate 795 (…2019-07-17 16 14 09 View south along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) from the overpass for Stocksdale Avenue in20192019-07-17 16 14 09 View south along Interstate 795 (…2019-07-17 15 48 09 View north along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) from the overpass for Berrymans Lane in20192019-07-17 15 48 09 View north along Interstate 795 (…2019-07-17 15 47 50 View south along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) from the overpass for Berrymans Lane in20192019-07-17 15 47 50 View south along Interstate 795 (…2019-06-05 15 24 23 View south along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) at Exit 7 (Franklin Boulevard) in20192019-06-05 15 24 23 View south along Interstate 795 (…2019-06-05 15 12 13 View north along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) at Exit 9 (Maryland State Route 140 WEST, We…20192019-06-05 15 12 13 View north along Interstate 795 (…2019-06-05 15 08 58 View north along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) at Exit 7B (Franklin Boulevard WEST) in20192019-06-05 15 08 58 View north along Interstate 795 (…2019-06-05 15 05 57 View north along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) at Exit 7A (Franklin Boulevard EAST) in20192019-06-05 15 05 57 View north along Interstate 795 (…Paved asphalt side area at Glyndon Loop in Baltimore County, Maryland - Mapillary2018Paved asphalt side area at Glyndon Loop in Baltimore …Reisterstown, farmland2016Reisterstown, farmlandReisterstown, farmland2016Reisterstown, farmland2016-07-12 13 23 04 View south along Maryland State Route 140 (Main Street) just south of Maryland State Route 30 (Hano…20162016-07-12 13 23 04 View south along Maryland State R…2016-07-12 13 21 59 View east along Maryland State Route 140 (Westminster Pike) at Maryland State Route 30 (Hanover Roa…20162016-07-12 13 21 59 View east along Maryland State Ro…2016-07-12 12 28 32 View west along Maryland State Route 140 (Westminster Pike) just west of Maryland State Route 30 (H…20162016-07-12 12 28 32 View west along Maryland State Ro…2016-07-12 11 57 57 View north along Maryland State Route 30 (Hanover Road) just north of Maryland State Route 140 (Wes…20162016-07-12 11 57 57 View north along Maryland State R…2016-07-12 09 02 12 View south along Interstate 795 (Northwest Expressway) just north of Cockeys Mill Road in20162016-07-12 09 02 12 View south along Interstate 795 (…St. John's In the Valley Western Run Parish2014St. John's In the Valley Western Run ParishReisterstown Community Cemetery, plot2013Reisterstown Community Cemetery, plotReisterstown Community Cemetery, landscape2013Reisterstown Community Cemetery, landscapeOne Foggy Day2010One Foggy DayNorth side of Reisterstown Road Plaza2010North side of Reisterstown Road PlazaReisterstown Historic District Dec 092009Reisterstown Historic District Dec 09Franklin High School2007Franklin High SchoolMDMap-doton-Reisterstown2004MDMap-doton-Reisterstown
On the map

Reisterstown on the map, 1892 to 1974

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

Reisterstown on the 1892 USGS mapReisterstown on the 1906 USGS mapReisterstown on the 1944 USGS mapReisterstown on the 1953 USGS mapReisterstown on the 1966 USGS mapReisterstown on the 1974 USGS map1892Ellicott 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 Reisterstown.

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.

Historic American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, Photographer September 1936 FRONT. BUILT ON LAND GRANTED TO REV. TH…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey E. H. Pickering, Photographer September 1936 FRONT. BUILT ON LAND GRANTED TO REV. TH…, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Reisterstown, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000196019802000202026,822

Grew from 2,077 people in 1950 to 26,822 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Reisterstown

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

See all →
Ovington WellerAmerican politician · b. 1862
O
Olivia GruverAmerican pole vaulter · b. 1997
William John GiesAmerican biochemist · b. 1872
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Owings Mills4 historic placesB+

Questions about Reisterstown’s history

What year was Reisterstown founded?

In 1758, according to Wikidata. Reisterstown’s post office opened in 1802, and the census of 1950 counted 2,077 people here.

How does Reisterstown rank for history?

Reisterstown is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Reisterstown?

Two places: the St. Michael's Church (listed 1979) and the Reisterstown Historic District (1979).

How old are the homes in Reisterstown?

4% of Reisterstown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (30), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.