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AHistory
History · Taneytown

Taneytown dates to 1754, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #16 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 280 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1850.

1754founded
4on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Taneytown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Taneytown began

When was Taneytown founded?

1754

Taneytown dates its founding to 1754 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 285 in 18502020 census: 7,234272 years

How historic is Taneytown?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Taneytown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Taneytown is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #16 of 261 in Maryland. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Taneytown’s overall grade.
Founding era1754, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194012.1% of homes (±8.4) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 303 historic buildings, 382 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 94%

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 Taneytown’s 382 sits above most of its state (89% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 303 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 points). Two sources give 1754.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Taneytown’s past

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

A historic districtThe Taneytown Historic District takes in 280 historic buildings.Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19114 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1971. Watch Taneytown change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1754, 22 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 303 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
303
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Antrim
Antrim, built 1844Rudisel, Ludwick, Tannery HouseTaneytown Historic DistrictKeefer-Brubaker Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Foursquare1
Victorian1
Gothic Revival1
Victorian Gothic1
Classical Revival1
AntrimGreek Revival · Built 1844
Rudisel, Ludwick, Tannery HouseBuilding
Taneytown Historic DistrictFoursquare
All 4 listings
Keefer-Brubaker FarmBuilding · listed 2007

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Hamlets and corners on the map
CloverberryCopperfieldCunningham AcresFairground VillageGreen MeadowsMeadow BrookRoberts Mill RunTrevanion TerraceWheatfieldsWhite Birch Estates
Gone or out of use
Carroll County FairgroundsparkTaneytown AcademyschoolTrinity Lutheran Churchchurch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Taneytown
Grace United Church of ChristSaint JosephTrinity Lutheran

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

On the map

Taneytown on the map, 1911 to 1971

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

Taneytown on the 1911 USGS mapTaneytown on the 1944 USGS mapTaneytown on the 1953 USGS mapTaneytown on the 1971 USGS map1911Taneytown 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 Taneytown.

The story

How Taneytown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Taneytown.

Read it all →

Taneytown was founded in 1754 and became the seat of Taneytown Hundred in colonial Frederick County. Taneytown takes its name from Raphael Taney, a recipient of one of the first land grants in the area, though Taney likely never lived in the city that bears his name. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger Brooke Taney, author of the Dred Scott decision, born in 1777, shares a common ancestor with him, but likely never visited the town or had any connection. When Carroll County was formed on January 19, 1837, Taneytown Hundred and Taneytown were included.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Taneytown, 1754 to 1989

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1754
    FoundingTaneytown is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1813Born hereJacob Gartner Lauman is born here
  5. 1844BuiltAntrim is built
  6. 1851Born hereRogers Birnie is born here
  7. 1861In the archiveExtract from the original (large scale) map of Gettysburg battle field in 4 sheets, being…
  8. 1866Born hereSterling A. Galt is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1989In the archiveFitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant statue-sign, Route 140
By decade

Taneytown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Extract from the original (large scale) map of Gettysburg battle field in 4 sheets, being portions of sheets 2 and 3 ly…1861Extract from the original (large scale) map of Gettys…Map
1980s1 item
Fitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant statue-sign, Route 1401989Fitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant statue-sign, Rout…
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
Date unknown3 to date
Thorndale, 3722 Old Taneytown RoadDate?Thorndale, 3722 Old Taneytown RoadAntrim, 30 Mill AvenueDate?Antrim, 30 Mill AvenueTrevanion, 1800 Trevanion RoadDate?Trevanion, 1800 Trevanion Road
Today3 recent
Taneytown2015TaneytownAtmospheric Phenomenon, Cold Air over Warm Moist Grain2011Atmospheric Phenomenon, Cold Air over Warm Moist GrainMDMap-doton-Taneytown2004MDMap-doton-Taneytown
Every building

Taneytown, building by building, 1904–1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Taneytown fire insurance map, 1904, sheet 11904Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

Fitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant statue-sign, Route 140
Retake this viewFitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant statue-sign, Route 140, 1989

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Taneytown, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018501900195020007,234

Grew from 285 people in 1850 to 7,234 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Taneytown

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

See all →
Jacob Gartner LaumanUnion Army general · b. 1813
S
Sterling A. GaltUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1866
Rogers BirnieExplorer and army officer who explored death va… · b. 1851
Help out

Start Taneytown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFitzgerald's Havilah Inn Restaurant sta…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Taneytown’s history

What year was Taneytown founded?

In 1754, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1850 counted 285 people here.

How does Taneytown rank for history?

Taneytown is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #16 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 Taneytown?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Antrim (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Taneytown Historic District, with 280 contributing buildings. 303 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Taneytown?

12% of Taneytown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1993.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.