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History · Zihlman

Zihlman’s post office opened in 1917, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Borden Mines Superintendent's House.

1917first post office
1on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Zihlman began

When was Zihlman founded?

1917

The Zihlman post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Allegany (1902), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 331109 years
Founding year: the first Zihlman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Zihlman’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Zihlman are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Zihlman’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Zihlman’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Zihlman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Zihlman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Zihlman (formerly Allegany) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Allegany County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 362. Zihlman is located along Maryland Route 36, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of and 500 feet (150 m) lower in elevation than Frostburg. Mount Savage is 3 miles (5 km) further northeast along MD 36.

Its first post office opened in 1917. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 362 to 331 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Zihlman, 1902 to 1942

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Allegany post office opens
  3. 1909Post officeThe Allegany post office closes
  4. 1917Post officeThe Zihlman post office opens
  5. 1942Post officeThe Zihlman post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the National Register

1 historic place in Zihlman

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Borden Mines Superintendent's House
Borden Mines Superintendent's House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate Villa1
Borden Mines Superintendent's HouseItalianate Villa

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Zihlman

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

See all →
Edward MooneyCatholic cardinal · b. 1882
Lenore KightAmerican swimmer, Olympic silver medalist · b. 1911
J. Glenn BeallPolitician and United States Army soldier · b. 1894
Charles J. ColganPolitician · b. 1926
Kenneth PrestonUS Army soldier · b. 1957
L
Laurence Edmund AllenAmerican journalist · b. 1908
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Zihlman had its own post office from 1917 to 1942. Another post office, Allegany, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Allegany
1902–1909
Zihlman
1917–1942
19001960today

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.

Frostburg2 historic placesA+

Questions about Zihlman’s history

What year was Zihlman founded?

The Zihlman post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Zihlman?

One place: the Borden Mines Superintendent's House (listed 1984).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.