Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to St. George Island

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · St. George Island

St. George Island’s post office opened in 1886, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1894 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From St. George Island’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How St. George Island began

When was St. George Island founded?

1886

The St. George Island post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint George Island (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 265140 years
Founding year: the first St. George Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about St. George Island’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 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1987. Watch St. George Island change.Old housesHalf of St. George Island’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. George Island’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. George Island’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 Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

St. George Island on the map, 1894 to 1987

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

St. George Island on the 1894 USGS mapSt. George Island on the 1912 USGS mapSt. George Island on the 1937 USGS mapSt. George Island on the 1942 USGS mapSt. George Island on the 1968 USGS mapSt. George Island on the 1987 USGS map1894Point Lookout 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 St. George Island.

The story so far

St. George Island, in brief

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

St. George Island is an unincorporated census-designated place in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The post office at Piney Point serves the island, which is connected to the mainland by a short bridge. During the War of 1812, the British made the island their headquarters, and raided shipyards and river plantations from this base. Many tall pines on the island were cut and shipped to England for ship masts. In the 19th century the Roman Catholic Church, which owned the island, finally opened it to settlement, including some settlers who migrated from Smith Island.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 257 to 265 (+3%).

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

Timeline

St. George Island, 1850 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Maryland - St. Mary's County - ED 19-11, …
  3. 1886Post officeThe Saint George Island post office opens
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907In the archiveFMIB 51860 Round Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepede St George Island, Maryland
  7. 1971Post officeThe Saint George Island post office closes
By decade

St. George Island, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Maryland - St. Mary's County - ED 19-11, ED 19-12, ED 19-13, ED 19-14, …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Maryl…
1900s1 item
FMIB 51860 Round Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepede St George Island, Maryland1907FMIB 51860 Round Minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepe…
1910s–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
Today4 recent
2016-05-18 11 48 03 View south along Piney Point Road (Maryland State Route 249) as it crosses the Saint George Island …20162016-05-18 11 48 03 View south along Piney Point Road…Crab Water tower -The Islands Restaurant & Bar in Piney Point, Maryland - Sarah Stierch2011Crab Water tower -The Islands Restaurant & Bar in Pin…Progne subis, St George's Island, Maryland 42010Progne subis, St George's Island, Maryland 4Religious Freedom Byway - A Road along St. George's Island2007Religious Freedom Byway - A Road along St. George's I…
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 Descriptions - Maryland - St. Mary's County - ED 19-11, ED 19-12, ED 19-13, ED 19-14, …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Maryland - St. Mary's County - ED 19-11, ED 19-12, ED 19-13, ED 19-14, …, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to St. George Island

Nobody well known was born in St. George Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Alfred GoughAmerican screenwriter and producer · b. 1967
J
Justin AndersonAmerican basketball player · b. 1993
Jerome AdamsSurgeon General of the United States from 2017 … · b. 1974
Benedict Joseph FenwickAmerican Catholic bishop · b. 1782
J
John MitchellColonial American doctor and botanist · b. 1711
T.J. CarterAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Saint George Island, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint George Island

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

Questions about St. George Island’s history

What year was St. George Island founded?

The St. George Island post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.