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Takoma Park downtownPhoto: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Takoma Park

Takoma Park dates to 1883, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #37 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 138 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.

1883founded
2on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
32famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Takoma Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Takoma Park began

When was Takoma Park founded?

1883

Takoma Park dates its founding to 1883 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 164 in 18902020 census: 17,629143 years

How historic is Takoma Park?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Takoma Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Takoma Park is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #37 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Takoma Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1883, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194025.5% of homes (±3.9) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 138 historic buildings, 78.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 86%

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 Takoma Park’s 78.3 sits above most of its state (83% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 138 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

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 (±3.9 points). Two sources give 1883.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Takoma Park’s past

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

A historic districtThe Takoma Park Historic District takes in 138 historic buildings.On the map since 19006 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1980. Watch Takoma Park change.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersSteve Francis, Sara McMann and 30 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 138 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
138
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Takoma Park Historic District
Takoma Park Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Georgian Revival1
Bungalow1
Takoma Park Historic DistrictQueen Anne

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

On the map

Takoma Park on the map, 1900 to 1980

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

Takoma Park on the 1900 USGS mapTakoma Park on the 1945 USGS mapTakoma Park on the 1951 USGS mapTakoma Park on the 1965 USGS mapTakoma Park on the 1971 USGS mapTakoma Park on the 1980 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 Takoma Park.

By decade

Takoma Park, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s17 items
Allied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma (Park, Maryland)1910Allied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma (P…Railroad station, Takoma Park, D.C. - 12141910Railroad station, Takoma Park, D.C. - 1214Washington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], front1910Washington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], frontWashington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], front1910Washington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], frontWashington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], Nurses home1910Washington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], Nurse…Hendrick Motor Co., [Takoma Park, Maryland], interior1910Hendrick Motor Co., [Takoma Park, Maryland], interiorHendrick Motor Co., [Takoma Park, Maryland], interior1910Hendrick Motor Co., [Takoma Park, Maryland], interiorAllied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma [Park, Maryland]1910Allied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma [P…Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, Volume 3, 1916, Plate 34.61916Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Washington, District …MapWashington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland]1918Washington Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland]Washington Sanitarium?1918Washington Sanitarium?Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], gymnasium1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], gymnasiumWash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], library1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], libraryWash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], children1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], childrenWash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], nursery1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], nurseryWash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], main bldg1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], main bldgWash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], main bldg1918Wash. Sanitarium, [Takoma Park, Maryland], main bldg
1920s–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
The story

How Takoma Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Takoma Park.

Read it all →

Takoma Park was founded by Benjamin Franklin Gilbert in 1883. It was one of the first planned Victorian commuter suburbs, centered on the B&O railroad station in Takoma, D.C., and bore aspects of a spa and trolley park.

Takoma was originally the name of Mount Rainier, from Lushootseed [təqʷúbəʔ] (earlier *təqʷúməʔ), "snow-covered mountain". At Gilbert's suggestion, the name was chosen in 1883 by DC resident Ida Summy, who believed it to mean "high up" or "near heaven". The city of Tacoma in Washington state is also named after the mountain.

Chapters19th centuryEarly 20th centuryMid 20th centuryLate 20th and early 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Takoma Park, 1883 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingTakoma Park is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1910In the archiveAllied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma (Park, Maryland)
  6. 1957Born hereHelen DeWitt is born here
  7. 1977Born hereSteve Francis is born here
  8. 1978Born hereWes Moore is born here
  9. 1980Born hereSara McMann is born here
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.

Allied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma (Park, Maryland)
Retake this viewAllied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple St., Takoma (Park, Maryland), 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Takoma Park, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 18,507

Between 164 and 18,507 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

32 famous people were born in Takoma Park

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Steve FrancisAmerican basketball player · b. 1977
Sara McMannAmerican olympic wrestler and mixed martial art… · b. 1980
Wes MooreAmerican politician, investment banker, author … · b. 1978
Helen DeWittAmerican writer · b. 1957
T
Terry WinogradAmerican professor · b. 1946
D
Danielle AllenAmerican classicist and political scientist · b. 1971
Places that used to be

Old corners

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carroll ManorNew Hampshire Gardens

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

Help out

Finish Takoma Park’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAllied Asphalt Products Co., 132 Maple …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Silver Spring5 historic placesB−Chillum3 historic placesC+Langley Park1 historic placeC

Questions about Takoma Park’s history

What year was Takoma Park founded?

In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 164 people here.

How does Takoma Park rank for history?

Takoma Park is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #37 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 Takoma Park?

2 listings: 1 historic district, the Takoma Park Historic District, with 138 contributing buildings. 138 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Takoma Park?

26% of Takoma Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1954.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (14), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.