Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Thurmont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Thurmont is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #36 of 261 in Maryland. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Thurmont’s overall grade.
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 Thurmont’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1751.
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 (±4.2 points).
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 Thurmont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Thurmont’s post office has been open since 1894. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mechanickstown
1815–1829
Mechanicstown
1829–1894
Owens Creek
1876–1885
Thurmont
1894–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AltogetherCatoctin HeightsCatoctin HighlandsColonial HeightsGatewayThurmont West
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Thurmont
ApplesWeller
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Thurmont, building by building, 1894–1910
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.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Thurmont on the map, 1911 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Thurmont. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Emmitsburg 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 Thurmont.
Originally incorporated as the Town of Mechanicstown in 1751, the name of the town was changed to Thurmont by an act of Maryland General Assembly on January 18, 1894. This name change was due to several other nearby towns having similar names, such as Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and Mechanicsville, Maryland. Charles E. Cassell, editor of the local newspaper Catoctin Clarion was the one to suggest the name Thurmont and promoted debate about the name change in the Clarion. Some of the names considered included Beaufort, Eastmont, Glenmont, Monduru, Fern Glen, and Blue Point. Eventually, the options were pared down to two main contenders: Cassell's suggestion of Thurmont, and local real estate broker Charles Shipley's suggestion of Blue Mountain City, which he argued was "appropriate" and "pretty" during an address at a town meeting in December 1893. In the December 14, 1893, issue, the Cl…
Passages that mention Thurmont, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland1913 · page 149Read the page →
Read the text
1899. — January 19. By request of the Thurmont Board a joint meeting of the Boards of both congregations was held in the church at Thurmont, to consult concerning the financial affairs of the Thurmont congregation.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Graceham, Frederick County, Maryland1913 · page 58Read the page →
Read the text
Mechanicstown (now Thurmont) “was first settled in 1751, when a few buildings were erected along the road leading from Hagerstown via Herman’s Gap to Baltimore. Lots were then laid out by James (or John) and Lawrence Creager, who owned nearly all the land as far as to Creagerstown. Jacob Weller, one of three brothers who came from Berks County, in Pennsylvania, was the first settler, attracted by the large and fine spring of water now called the Cold Spring. The first hotel, until recently
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Emmitsburg, Maryland, with a prelude of historical facts of Frederick County, and a romance entitled Disappointed1906 · page 56Read the page →
Read the text
ern Maryland R. R. When completed to Westminster the coaches made the daily trips there. As the road advanced to Linwood, to Union Bridge, to New Windsor, York road, Double Pipe creek, R. Ridge and Thurmont. The stage continued running to Thurmont until the Emmitsburg railroad was made. In 1872 the road was graded; the tracks laid 1875; the first train November 22d, 1875 — free excursion all day; the first mail on railroad December 6th, 1875;
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Thurmont, 1751 to 1911
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1751, according to Wikidata. Thurmont’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1870 counted 583 people here.
How does Thurmont rank for history?
Thurmont is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Thurmont?
One place: the Roddy Road Covered Bridge (listed 1978).
How old are the homes in Thurmont?
13% of Thurmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (5), 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), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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