RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Towson ...

Towson is located in Baltimore County<1> and is the County Seat for Baltimore County.

Towson was established in 1750.

Towson is 460 feet [140 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Towson lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Towson: 410, 443 & 667<3>

The ZIP codes for Towson: 21204, 21252, 21284-21286<4>

Going back to its beginning, Towson was originally named Towsontown. For more information about the names of Towson, see The Names of Towson on our Genealogy Page.

Communities Also Named Towson ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Towson - they are located in Texas and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Towson.

Websites for Towson ...

Chamber of Commerce:   www.baltcountycc.com/

Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Towson, the following might be of interest:

Communities near Towson ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Towson.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Towson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Towson.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Towson. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Towson.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Towson. Our list includes 27 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Towson.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Towson ...

Looking for more information about Towson? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Towson, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Towson.

Adding Towson to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Towson in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Towson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Towson post office opened in 1880. The Towson post office closed in 1894.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Towson.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Maryland's counties, including Baltimore, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Towson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 410 code has been Overlayed with one of the following codes: 443 or 667. New phone numbers in the Towson area will be assigned with one of these codes: 410, 443 or 667. As a result, placing a call in the Towson area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Towson). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Towson or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our list of ZIP Codes for Towson includes: 21204, 21252, 21284, 21285 & 21286.
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/