New Market, Maryland was founded in 1793 by Nicholas Hall and William Plummer, who planned to set up a town next to the wagon trail known as the Baltimore Turnpike. Realizing the commercial value of this heavily traveled route, Hall and Plummer turned a half-mile section of the road through the town directly into Main Street.
As the route evolved into part of the historic National Road - the nation’s first major east-west throughway - New Market flourished as a "drover's town" and the Main Street was lined with hotels, taverns, and blacksmith shops. Today, that heritage is preserved through the town's beautifully maintained historic buildings and a distinctly wide road, which would have been able to accommodate the wagons and livestock.
Religious congregations also became established in the town in the years after its founding. Bush Creek Society of Friends established New Market's first religious institution and school around 1799 and the New Market United Methodist Church, originally founded as the Methodist Episcopal Church, began congregating in 1801.
During the American Civil War, New Market’s strategic location along the turnpike placed it directly in the path of both Union and Confederate movements. As troops marched back and forth across Frederick County the town witnessed frequent skirmishes, scouting missions, and encampments. Today, multiple historical markers regarding the Civil War can be found in downtown New Market.
Following the Civil War more churches were established in New Market; Grace Episcopal Church was formally organized in 1869. The Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in the mid- to late-1800s and served as an essential pillar for the town's Black community following the Civil War.
The New Market Cemetery Company of Frederick County holds a history that may stretch back even further than the town's formal incorporation. Records indicate that the company was first incorporated in the mid-to-late 1700s, and the history of the New Market Cemetery is deeply intertwined with the shifting socio-political landscapes seen across Maryland over the centuries.
Historically the New Market Cemetery was a Christian, white-only cemetery, similar to many other segregated cemeteries seen across the state during the Jim Crow era and up to the early 20th centuries. Because of this divide, the African-American community established their own cemetery on North Alley. Today, the New Market Cemetery operates as a non-demoninational, non-discriminatory cemetery. We proudly serve individuals and families of all faiths, backgrounds, and walks of life.