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C+History
History · South Laurel

4 of South Laurel’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #121 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of South Laurel was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 2000.

4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About South Laurel’s history

How historic is South Laurel?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives South Laurel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Laurel is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #121 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Laurel’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.5) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 1.4 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 54%

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 South Laurel’s 1.4 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 South Laurel’s past

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

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s South Laurel, and 15 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of South Laurel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18928 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1981. Watch South Laurel change.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Montpelier, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Contee's Station
1871–1880
Buxton's
1884–1891
Mistletoe Spring
1891–1892
Oak Crest
1892–1896
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Birchwood GardensBriarwoodConteeFox RestLaurel WoodMistletoe SpringsMontpelierMontpelier ForestMontpelier HillsMontpelier WoodsOak CrestOxford GreenPheasant RunSnow Hill ManorVillages of Montpelier
Gone or out of use
Avondale Schoolschool
1cemetery inside South Laurel
Queens Chapel United Methodist Church

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

Help out

Start South Laurel’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

South Laurel on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

South Laurel on the 1892 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1907 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1926 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1944 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1951 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1965 USGS mapSouth Laurel on the 1971 USGS mapSouth Laurel 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 South Laurel.

The story so far

South Laurel, in brief

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

South Laurel is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 29,602.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 26,112 to 29,602 (+13%).

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

Timeline

South Laurel, 1871 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Contee's Station post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Contee's Station post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Buxton's post office opens
  5. 1889BuiltAbraham Hall is built
  6. 1891Post officeThe Buxton's post office closes
  7. 1891Post officeThe Mistletoe Spring post office opens
  8. 1892Post officeThe Mistletoe Spring post office closes
  9. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 20th century
  11. 1942BuiltBaltimore-Washington Parkway is built
  12. 1970LandmarkMontpelier named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

South Laurel, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2020-08-12 16 12 06 View south along Maryland State Route 197 (Laurel-Bowie Road) at the exit for the Baltimore-Washing…20202020-08-12 16 12 06 View south along Maryland State R…2020-08-12 16 11 14 View south along Maryland State Route 197 (Laurel-Bowie Road) at the exit for the Baltimore-Washing…20202020-08-12 16 11 14 View south along Maryland State R…2020-08-12 16 03 43 View south along Maryland State Route 197 (Laurel-Bowie Road) at Bowie Road in South Laurel, Prince…20202020-08-12 16 03 43 View south along Maryland State R…2019-09-09 10 15 44 View south along Maryland State Route 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) at the exit for Powder Mil…20192019-09-09 10 15 44 View south along Maryland State R…2019-09-09 10 12 18 View south along Maryland State Route 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) at the exit for Maryland S…20192019-09-09 10 12 18 View south along Maryland State R…2019-09-08 14 18 10 View north along Maryland State Route 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) at the exit for Maryland S…20192019-09-08 14 18 10 View north along Maryland State R…2019-09-08 14 16 06 View north along Maryland State Route 295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) one half mile before the e…20192019-09-08 14 16 06 View north along Maryland State R…2019-09-04 09 15 12 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) from the overpass for Muirkirk Road on the edge of…20192019-09-04 09 15 12 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Ba…2019-08-20 13 53 40 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) at the exit for WEST Maryland State Route 200 (TO …20192019-08-20 13 53 40 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Ba…2019-08-15 11 51 43 View south along U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) at the exit for WEST Maryland State Route 200 (TO …20192019-08-15 11 51 43 View south along U.S. Route 1 (Ba…2016-09-02 18 46 17 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Baltimore Avenue) at Maryland State Route 200 (Intercounty Connector…20162016-09-02 18 46 17 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Ba…Baltimore–Washington Parkway, Laurel, Maryland2014Baltimore–Washington Parkway, Laurel, Maryland
On the National Register

4 historic places in South Laurel

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
Montpelier
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Montpelier
Snow HillBaltimore-Washington Parkway, built 1942Abraham Hall, built 1889Montpelier★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Georgian2
Parkway1
National Park Service Landscape Architecture1
★ Landmark
MontpelierGeorgian
Snow HillGeorgian
Baltimore-Washington ParkwayParkway · Built 1942
Abraham HallBuilt 1889

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

People over time

South Laurel, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00020002020Peak: 29,602

Between 20,479 and 29,602 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Laurel

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

See all →
Neal StephensonAmerican science fiction writer · b. 1959
Matthew CentrowitzAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1989
Peter DavidAmerican writer of comic books, novels, televis… · b. 1956
Chinanu OnuakuAmerican basketball player · b. 1996
M
Margaret WhittonAmerican actress · b. 1949
R
Roy HoranAmerican actor · b. 1950
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Maryland CityIts storyDLaurel3 historic placesC+KonterraIts storyD

Questions about South Laurel’s history

How does South Laurel rank for history?

South Laurel is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #121 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 South Laurel?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Montpelier (a National Historic Landmark since 1970), and 1 historic district, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway,.

How old are the homes in South Laurel?

3% of South Laurel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1977.

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), 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.