Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Secretary. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Hurlock 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 Secretary.
The story so far
Secretary, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Secretary yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Secretary is a town in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Secretary had a population of 472. Lord Baltimore named the town after his secretary.
Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 535 to 472 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Secretary, 1902–1925
Passages that mention Secretary, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sec^retary, and Golden Hill, or Meekins' Neck. They are sustained by able and inlluential parishioners. "Mary Refuge of Sinners," the church in Cambridge, was erected in 1894, to replace one built there in 1885. The church at Secretary is the outgrowth of a small Catholic settlement made there about 1886, whiqh has since been steadily increasing.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Revised history of Dorchester County, Maryland1925 · page 96Read the page →
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East New Market, a town of about 600 inhabitants, is situated twelve miles from Cambridge and one mile from the head of Warwick River, once known as Secretary Creek, a tributary of the Great Choptank. It is a thriving village and is surrounded by some of the best farming land in the county. The farmers of this section of the county have ceased, however, to depend upon the usual staples and now raise peaches, melons, berries and other fruits and vegetables. The canning and shipping of
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Revised history of Dorchester County, Maryland1925 · page 140Read the page →
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The progress of the Catholic Church in Dorchester County has been very slow; at this date there are only about five hundred Catholics, and three churches, one each at Cambridge, Secretary, and Golden Hill, or Meekins’ Neck. They are sustained by able and influential parishioners. “Mary, Refuge of Sinners,” the church in Cambridge, was erected in 1894, to replace one built there in 1885. The church at Secretary is the outgrowth of a small Catholic settlement made there about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From the Library of Congress (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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