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C−History
History · Silver Hill

Silver Hill’s post office opened in 1864

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #172 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Silver Hill was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1900 on.

1864first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Silver Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Silver Hill began

When was Silver Hill founded?

1864

The Silver Hill post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Silverhill (1864), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 6,381162 years

How historic is Silver Hill?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Silver Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Silver Hill is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #172 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 Silver Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1864, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.9% of homes (±5.4) · 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 23%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 34%

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 Silver Hill’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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). 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 Silver Hill’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1979. Watch Silver Hill change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Silver Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Silver Hill’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 viewPotomac Electric Power Co. substations.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Silver Hill on the map, 1900 to 1979

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

Silver Hill on the 1900 USGS mapSilver Hill on the 1934 USGS mapSilver Hill on the 1945 USGS mapSilver Hill on the 1979 USGS map1900Washington 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 Silver Hill.

The story so far

Silver Hill, in brief

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

Silver Hill is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,381. Prior to 2010, Silver Hill was part of the Suitland-Silver Hill census-designated place.

Its first post office opened in 1864. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,950 to 6,381 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Silver Hill, 1864 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864Post officeThe Silverhill post office opens
  3. 1873In the archiveForestville MD map 1873
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1913Post officeThe Silverhill post office closes
  7. 1920In the archivePotomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, Maryland substation II
By decade

Silver Hill, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Forestville MD map 18731873Forestville MD map 1873Map
1920s2 items
Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, Maryland substation II1920Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, …Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, Maryland substation I1920Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, …
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
Today6 recent
2019-09-09 11 45 17 View west along the Suitland Parkway at the exit for Maryland State Route 458 (Silver Hill Road, Su…20192019-09-09 11 45 17 View west along the Suitland Park…2019-09-09 11 43 10 View west along the Suitland Parkway at the exit for Meadowview Drive on the edge of Silver Hill an…20192019-09-09 11 43 10 View west along the Suitland Park…2016-09-11 12 46 12 View east along Maryland State Route 458 (Silver Hill Road) at Maryland State Route 5 (Branch Avenu…20162016-09-11 12 46 12 View east along Maryland State Ro…2016-09-10 12 31 19 View north along Maryland State Route 5 (Branch Avenue) at Maryland State Route 637 (Naylor Road) o…20162016-09-10 12 31 19 View north along Maryland State R…2016-09-07 12 04 47 View north along Maryland State Route 967 (Old Branch Avenue) at Coach Lane in Silver Hill, Prince …20162016-09-07 12 04 47 View north along Maryland State R…2016-09-07 12 03 50 View south along Maryland State Route 967 (Bedford Way) at Bedford Place in Silver Hill, Prince Geo…20162016-09-07 12 03 50 View south along Maryland State R…
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.

Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, Maryland substation II
Retake this viewPotomac Electric Power Co. substations. Silver Hill, Maryland substation II, 1920

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Silver Hill

Nobody well known was born in Silver Hill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Al GoreVice President of the United States from 1993 t… · b. 1948
Samuel L. JacksonAmerican actor · b. 1948
Jennifer DoudnaAmerican biochemist · b. 1964
Richard R. ArnoldAmerican educator and astronaut · b. 1963
Angela AlsobrooksAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1971
Len BiasAmerican basketball player · b. 1963
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Silverhill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Gordons Corner

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Camp SpringsIts storyDSuitland2 historic placesCMarlow HeightsIts storyD

Questions about Silver Hill’s history

What year was Silver Hill founded?

The Silver Hill post office opened in 1864, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Silver Hill rank for history?

Silver Hill is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #172 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 Silver Hill?

7% of Silver Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (7), the Library of Congress (2), 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.