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C−History
History · Waldorf

Waldorf’s post office opened in 1880, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #166 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Waldorf was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listing is the Spye Park. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1970.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waldorf’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waldorf began

When was Waldorf founded?

1880

The Waldorf post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Beantown (1844), Mattawoman (1873) and Berry (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 647 in 19702020 census: 81,410146 years

How historic is Waldorf?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Waldorf post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waldorf’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waldorf is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #166 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 Waldorf’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.3) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 37%

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 Waldorf’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Waldorf’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Waldorf, and 51 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersBenji Madden, Joel Madden and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Waldorf’s post office has been open since 1880. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Beantown
1844–1880
Mattawoman
1873–1912
White Plains
1873–today
Waldorf
1880–today
Berry
1902–1915
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Acton VillageAshfordBannisterBeantownBel Air AcresBerryBriarwoodBriceCapitol EstatesCarringtonCleveland Park EstatesConstitution HillsCountry Club SouthDeerwoodDelightDorchesterFox RunGillespie Mobile Home CourtGreenmontHampshireHolly StationHolly Tree ParkHope AcresHunt Club Estates
Gone or out of use
Middletown SchoolschoolPost Office Road Plaza Shopping Centerpost officeWaldorf Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waldorf
Saint Pauls Piney ChurchTrinity Memorial GardensZion Wesley United Methodist Church

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Waldorf

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

See all →
B
Benji MaddenAmerican rock musician · b. 1979
J
Joel MaddenAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1979
A
Asante BlackkAmerican actor · b. 2001
John FlowersAmerican basketball player · b. 1989
Robyn ParksAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
D
David HayesAmerican soccer player · b. 1976
The story

How Waldorf came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waldorf.

Read it all →

What is now the Waldorf area was originally part of the territory of the Piscataway Indian Nation, along with all of Southern Maryland, including Charles County. Close to the current western Waldorf area, the presence of villages, Indian grave sites (holding remains of over 1,000 people) and hunting encampments of Native American / Indian peoples have been confirmed, by archeological study of evidence dating from 1690 back to 6,000 years ago.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waldorf, 1844 to 2001

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844Post officeThe Beantown post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe Mattawoman post office opens
  4. 1873Post officeThe White Plains post office opens
  5. 1880Post officeThe Beantown post office closes
  6. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1912Post officeThe Mattawoman post office closes
  9. 1918In the archiveJN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Field 1918
  10. 1920In the archiveWaldorf, Maryland and vicinity. Waldorf school
  11. 1930In the archiveCadillac Motel, U. S. Route 301, Waldorf, Maryland (87063)
  12. 1979Born hereBenji Madden is born here
  13. 1979Born hereJoel Madden is born here
  14. 1989Born hereJohn Flowers is born here
  15. 21st century
  16. 2001Born hereAsante Blackk is born here
By decade

Waldorf, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1920s5 items
JN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Field 19181918JN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Field 1918Waldorf, Maryland and vicinity. Waldorf school1920Waldorf, Maryland and vicinity. Waldorf schoolWaldorf, Maryland and vicinity. Business district1920Waldorf, Maryland and vicinity. Business districtWaldorf, Maryland and vicinity Gas station and bus I1920Waldorf, Maryland and vicinity Gas station and bus IWaldorf, Maryland and vicinity Gas station and bus II1920Waldorf, Maryland and vicinity Gas station and bus II
1930s1 item
Cadillac Motel, U. S. Route 301, Waldorf, Maryland (87063)c. 1930Cadillac Motel, U. S. Route 301, Waldorf, Maryland (8…
1940s–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
On the map

Waldorf on the map, 1892 to 1911

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

Waldorf on the 1892 USGS mapWaldorf on the 1911 USGS map1892Brandywine 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 Waldorf.

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.

JN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Field 1918
Retake this viewJN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Field 1918, 1918

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Waldorf

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Spye Park
Spye Park
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial1
Federal1
All 1 listings
Spye ParkBuilding · listed 1990

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

People over time

Waldorf, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,00019802000202081,410

Grew from 647 people in 1970 to 81,410 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Waldorf’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJN-4H US Air Mail inauguration Polo Fie…: 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.

Accokeek5 historic placesB−Bensville3 historic placesB−Brandywine3 historic placesBCedarvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Waldorf’s history

What year was Waldorf founded?

The Waldorf post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Waldorf rank for history?

Waldorf is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #166 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 Waldorf?

One place: the Spye Park (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Waldorf?

0.6% of Waldorf’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), 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) 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.