A history of Hagerstown,
since 1762
Postcards, papers and photographs of Hagerstown from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1739, Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant from Pennsylvania and a volunteer Captain of Scouts, purchased 200 acres (81 ha) of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland and called it Hager's Fancy. In 1762, Hager officially founded the town of Elizabethtown which he named after his wife, Elizabeth Kershner. Fourteen years later, Jonathan Hager became known as the "father of Washington County" after his efforts helped Hagerstown become the county seat of newly created Washington County, which Hager also helped create from neighboring Frederick County. The city council changed the community's name to Hager's-Town in 1813 because the name had gained popular usage, and in the following year, the Maryland State Legislature officially endorsed the changing of the town's name.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Hagerstown’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFreebanking2, 1857: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Hagerstown, decade by decade
1990s
24 historic places in Hagerstown
Hagerstown has 24 listings on the National Register, and they protect 2,606 historic buildings, because Hagerstown Historic District alone counts 1,950.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Freebanking2 (1857) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.