Jefferson, Maryland
unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland
Jefferson is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census the town had a population of 2,235 (which includes the widespread area of the town's zip code, not Jefferson proper). Jefferson was established in 1774 and incorporated as a town in 1831. However, a year later, in 1832, the citizens of the town decided that municipal government was unnecessary, and dis-incorporated the town, which has been unincorporated since then.
History
According to archaeologist Mary F. Barse, Jefferson was initially laid out in 1774 on a 96-acre (390,000 m2) tract owned by Mrs. Eleanor Medley, which was ultimately called "New Town". It contained 40 rectangular lots – 20 aligned on each side of what is now MD 180 – stretching between what are now Lander Road and Old Middletown Road. In 1795, 22 additional lots were platted by Elias Delashmutt on the western end of the original section, and called "New Freedom". In 1831 both sections were incorporated as "Jefferson" by the Maryland Legislature.
Jefferson's growth in the 19th century was due largely to its location on the main road between Frederick and Harpers Ferry, which is today's Maryland Route 180.
“Jefferson, Maryland” enters the record as unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Jefferson, Maryland and unincorporated can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Jefferson, Maryland” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Jefferson, Maryland and unincorporated provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3887456. VIAF identifies the subject as 125653564. The Library of Congress control number is n96048185. Authority coordinates are 39.362, -77.532. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1774, 1831 and 1832.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jefferson, Maryland”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jefferson, Maryland primary sources, Jefferson, Maryland archive and Jefferson research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jefferson, Maryland”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jefferson, Maryland” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.