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CHistory
History · Woodmore

Woodmore’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #127 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Woodmore was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listing is the Pleasant Prospect. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1990.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Woodmore’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Woodmore began

When was Woodmore founded?

1890

The Woodmore post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Woodmoor (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,874 in 19902020 census: 4,513136 years

How historic is Woodmore?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Woodmore’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodmore is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #127 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 Woodmore’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.8) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 8 historic buildings, 17.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MD town 0.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 52%

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 Woodmore’s 17.3 sits above most of its state (73% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±0.8 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 Woodmore’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1993. Watch Woodmore change.Boom and bustPeaked at 6,077 in 2000; 4,513 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodmore’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey John…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Woodmore on the map, 1900 to 1993

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

Woodmore on the 1900 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1934 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1944 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1957 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1965 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1971 USGS mapWoodmore on the 1993 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 Woodmore.

People over time

Woodmore, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50020002020Peak: 6,077

Peaked at 6,077 in 2000; 4,513 people lived here in 2020.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

The story

How Woodmore came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Woodmore.

Read it all →

The first colonial owner of the Woodmore site was Thomas Spriggs, who in 1698 acquired 500 acres (2.0 km2) of what was then known as the forest of Prince George's County in the Crown Colony of Maryland.

The first house in the area was a two-story brick house named Pleasant Prospect (still standing at 12806 Woodmore Road)., built c. 1798 by Dr. Isaac Ducket, the husband of Spriggs' granddaughter. He also doubled the size of the estate to over 1,000 acres.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Woodmore, 1877 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Woodmoor post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Woodmoor post office closes
  4. 1890Post officeThe Woodmore post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1907Post officeThe Woodmore post office closes
  8. 1936In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey John O. Brostrup, Photographer April 15, 1936 9-35 A.M…
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 6,077
By decade

Woodmore, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Historic American Buildings Survey John O. Brostrup, Photographer April 15, 1936 9-35 A.M. VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST (front) …1936Historic American Buildings Survey John O. Brostrup, …
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
Today5 recent
2020-08-26 12 56 05 Trees growing up through concrete slabs underneath an overpass for Interstate 595 and U.S. Route 50…20202020-08-26 12 56 05 Trees growing up through concrete…2020-08-26 12 55 02 View east along Maryland State Route 193 (Enterprise Road) from the overpass for Interstate 595 and…20202020-08-26 12 55 02 View east along Maryland State Ro…2020-08-20 10 27 11 View west along Maryland State Route 214 (Central Avenue) just east of Maryland State Route 193 (En…20202020-08-20 10 27 11 View west along Maryland State Ro…2019-07-25 14 06 21 View west along Interstate 595 and U.S. Route 50 (John Hanson Highway) from the overpass for Church…20192019-07-25 14 06 21 View west along Interstate 595 an…MDMap-doton-Woodmore2004MDMap-doton-Woodmore
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.

Historic American Buildings Survey John O. Brostrup, Photographer April 15, 1936 9-35 A.M. VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST (front) …
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey John O. Brostrup, Photographer April 15, 1936 9-35 A.M. VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST (front) …, 1936

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Woodmore

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Pleasant Prospect
Pleasant Prospect
Buildings
Pleasant ProspectBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Woodmore

Nobody well known was born in Woodmore itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Richard R. ArnoldAmerican educator and astronaut · b. 1963
Markelle FultzAmerican basketball player · b. 1998
John CarrollFirst Roman Catholic bishop and archbishop in t… · b. 1735
Len BiasAmerican basketball player · b. 1963
Daniel CarrollAmerican politician, signer of the US Constitut… · b. 1730
Rico NastyAmerican rapper · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Woodmore had its own post office from 1890 to 1907. Another post office, Woodmoor, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Woodmoor
1877–1878
Woodmore
1890–1907
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Kolbes Corner
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woodmore
Holy Family CatholicMount Oak Methodist Church

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MitchellvilleIts storyD−Bowie6 historic placesCKetteringIts storyD−FairwoodIts storyD

Questions about Woodmore’s history

What year was Woodmore founded?

The Woodmore post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Woodmore rank for history?

Woodmore is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #127 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 Woodmore?

One place: the Pleasant Prospect (listed 1976).

How old are the homes in Woodmore?

0.5% of Woodmore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.