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A−History
History · Savage

Savage dates to 1822, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #29 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 36 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1892 on.

1822founded
4on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Savage’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Savage began

When was Savage founded?

1822

Savage dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata).

2020 census: 7,542204 years

How historic is Savage?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Savage’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Savage is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #29 of 261 in Maryland. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Savage’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.7% of homes (±5.5) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 52 historic buildings, 63.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
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 Savage’s 63.1 sits above most of its state (82% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 52 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1822.
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 (±5.5 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 Savage’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 1981. Watch Savage change.Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A historic districtThe Savage Mill Historic District takes in 36 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Savage’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Savage’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

Savage on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

Savage on the 1892 USGS mapSavage on the 1907 USGS mapSavage on the 1926 USGS mapSavage on the 1942 USGS mapSavage on the 1950 USGS mapSavage on the 1974 USGS mapSavage on the 1981 USGS map1892Laurel 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 Savage.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Asbury WoodsAspenwoodAutumn WoodsGlen CourtHeritage WoodsHoward HillsHuntington EastMission HeightsNordeauRiver Island
Gone or out of use
Savage Grade Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Savage
Grace

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Savage came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Savage.

Read it all →

The lands of present-day Savage were first settled in approximately 1650. Colonel Henry Ridgley surveyed the land around Savage Mill and nearby Annapolis Junction, Maryland in 1685, naming the tract "Ridgely's Forrest". Joseph White was the grandson of Peregrine White, the first child born of the Mayflower expedition.

In 1734, he opened a gristmill on land patented as "Whites Fortune" and "Mill Land". The parcels were consolidated to become "Whites Contrivance".

A rich vein of American industrial history lies in Savage. When the textile industry was in its heyday, Savage was an important manufacturing center, its mills harnessing the water power on the falls of the Little and Middle Patuxent rivers.

Chapters17th century18th century19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Savage, 1822 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822
    FoundingSavage is established
  3. 1869BuiltBollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge is built
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Howard County
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1923In the archiveSavage Md. well story LOC npcc.07808
  8. 21st century
  9. 2000LandmarkBollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Savage, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Howard County18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Ho…
1890s–1910snothing 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
1920s1 item
Savage Md. well story LOC npcc.078081923Savage Md. well story LOC npcc.07808
1930s–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
Savage Maryland Vol Fire Department Medic 662012Savage Maryland Vol Fire Department Medic 66MD 32 eastbound at US 1 exit2009MD 32 eastbound at US 1 exitSavage Mill Manor Dec 082008Savage Mill Manor Dec 08Savage Mill Community Bldg Dec 082008Savage Mill Community Bldg Dec 08Rathskeller Basement at the Ram’s Head Restaurant2006Rathskeller Basement at the Ram’s Head RestaurantBonaparte Bakery2006Bonaparte BakerySVFC Rescue Engine 62005SVFC Rescue Engine 6SVFC Engine 612005SVFC Engine 61SVFC Canteen 62005SVFC Canteen 6SVFC Ambulance 662005SVFC Ambulance 66
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 - Howard County
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Maryland - Howard County, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 52 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge
historic buildings protected
52
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge
Savage MillSavage Mill Historic DistrictCommodore Joshua Barney HouseBollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge, built 1869★
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Bollman Truss1
Federal1
Victorian1
★ Landmark
Bollman Suspension and Trussed BridgeBollman Truss · Built 1869
Savage MillBuilding
Savage Mill Historic DistrictFederal
All 4 listings
Commodore Joshua Barney HouseBuilding · listed 1978

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North LaurelIts storyD−Columbia5 historic placesCJessup1 historic placeC−

Questions about Savage’s history

What year was Savage founded?

In 1822, according to Wikidata.

How does Savage rank for history?

Savage is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #29 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 Savage?

4 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Savage Mill Historic District, with 36 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 52 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Savage?

12% of Savage’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.