The Willards post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Millards (1896), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 963130 years
How historic is Willards?
C+
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Willards post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Willards’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Willards is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Willards’ 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 Willards’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points). 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 Willards’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Willards yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Willards is a town in Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Willards had a population of 963. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1896. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 958 in 2010, 963 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Willards, 1896 to 1896
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Willards’s post office has been open since 1896. Another post office, Millards, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Millards
1896–1896
Willards
1896–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Parkview
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Willards’ history
What year was Willards founded?
The Willards post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Willards rank for history?
Willards is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Willards?
22% of Willards’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 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.
