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History · Pen Mar

Pen Mar’s post office opened in 1883, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on and old-book passages.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pen Mar began

When was Pen Mar founded?

1883

The Pen Mar post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 947143 years
Founding year: the first Pen Mar post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Pen Mar’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 Pen Mar are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19126 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1994. Watch Pen Mar change.
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Start Pen Mar’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Pen Mar on the map, 1912 to 1994

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

Pen Mar on the 1912 USGS mapPen Mar on the 1944 USGS mapPen Mar on the 1953 USGS mapPen Mar on the 1971 USGS mapPen Mar on the 1985 USGS mapPen Mar on the 1994 USGS map1912Hagerstown 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 Pen Mar.

The story

How Pen Mar came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pen Mar.

Read it all →

The community's name is a portmanteau of "Pennsylvania" and "Maryland".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pen Mar in 1887

Passages that mention Pen Mar, cut from the printed page as they were published.

reared on the farm in Adams County, where he also attended the common schools, and followed the vocation of farming. From 1856 until 1875 he was employed by the Western Maryland Railroad and its branches. In 1871 he erected a warehouse where Pen Mar stands, and with a partner carried on business fo…
History of Franklin county, Pennsylvania1887 · page 960Read the page →
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reared on the farm in Adams County, where he also attended the common schools, and followed the vocation of farming. From 1856 until 1875 he was employed by the Western Maryland Railroad and its branches. In 1871 he erected a warehouse where Pen Mar stands, and with a partner carried on business for several years. The erection of a warehouse there was the means of building up Pen Mar, the great summer resort now so widely known. In 1875- Mr. Shover moved from the farm to Pen Mar, and in 1881 removed to Waynesboro, where he has been in the employ of the Geiser Manufacturing Company.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
reared on the farm in Adams County, where he also attended the common schools, and followed the vocation of farming. From 1856 until 1875 he was employed by the Western Maryland Railroad and its branches. In 1871 he erected a warehouse where Pen Mar stands, and with a partner carried on business fo…
History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania1887 · page 960Read the page →
Read the text

reared on the farm in Adams County, where he also attended the common schools, and followed the vocation of farming. From 1856 until 1875 he was employed by the Western Maryland Railroad and its branches. In 1871 he erected a warehouse where Pen Mar stands, and with a partner carried on business for several years. The erection of a warehouse there was the means of building up Pen Mar, the great summer resort now so widely known. In 1875 Mr. Shover moved from the farm to Pen Mar, and in 1881 removed to Waynesboro, where he has been in the employ of the Geiser Manufacturing Company.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
mon schools. He first embarked in the huckstering business, which he has since followed, also farming to some extent, and is the owner of a farm and some mountain land. He put up the first building on the mountain where Pen Mar now stands. This building was a warehouse, and was erected by him and R…
History of Franklin County, Pennsylvania1887 · page 957Read the page →
Read the text

mon schools. He first embarked in the huckstering business, which he has since followed, also farming to some extent, and is the owner of a farm and some mountain land. He put up the first building on the mountain where Pen Mar now stands. This building was a warehouse, and was erected by him and Reuben Shover after the railroad was built. In order to secure a site for the warehouse, Mr. Rouzer proceeded to pile away the brush, and while thus employed was asked by some hunters what he intended doing; when he told them that he was going to build a warehouse, they remarked, ‘*You are crazy,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
mon schools. He first embarked in the huckstering business, which he has since followed, also farming to some extent, and is the owner of a farm and' some mountain land. He put up the first building on the mountain where- Pen Mar now stands. This building was a warehouse, and was erected by him. an…
History of Franklin county, Pennsylvania1887 · page 957Read the page →
Read the text

mon schools. He first embarked in the huckstering business, which he has since followed, also farming to some extent, and is the owner of a farm and' some mountain land. He put up the first building on the mountain where- Pen Mar now stands. This building was a warehouse, and was erected by him. and Reuben Shover after the railroad was built. In order to secure a site for the warehouse, Mr. Rouzer proceeded to pile away the brush, and while thus employed was asked by some hunters what he. intended doing; when he told them that be was going to build a warehouse, they remarked, "You are crazy,"

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.

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.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Pen Mar

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

See all →
Wallis SimpsonAmerican socialite and wife of the Duke of Wind… · b. 1896
Ed McCaffreyAmerican football player · b. 1968
Joseph CaseyCongressman · b. 1814
Max BishopAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1899
Benjamin Franklin LeiterAmerican politician · b. 1813
John CovodeAmerican politician · b. 1808
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

RouzervilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWashington Township8 historic placesA−

Questions about Pen Mar’s history

What year was Pen Mar founded?

The Pen Mar post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.