Poolesville received its name from the U. S. Post Office Department when the area’s first post office was established in Poole’s Store in 1805. John Poole had opened his small store in 1793 in his residence, a small one-room-and-kitchen log house that still stands today. His primary customers were the farming families who had been settling in the area since about 1760. These are the ancestors of many families who live in the area today.

Agricultural development was the primary cause of prosperity in Poolesville. Town residents supplied services and goods to the local farmers. Blacksmiths, wheelwrights, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, barbers, coopers, tavernkeepers, and a hotelier were thriving in Poolesville in the early 1800s. Another factor in Poolesville’s development was its proximity to the Potomac River ferries and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which started partial operation in 1833.

Poolesville, whose population had reached about 200 by 1861, was the second largest town in Montgomery County and was of major importance during the Civil War due to its strategic location between the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., and nearby Virginia.

After the Civil War, Poolesville was never able to recapture its pre-war prosperity. For one thing, traffic on the C&O Canal had declined with the advent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the 1870s.

Today, Poolesville retains its small, rural character with a population of about 4,200. Historic preservation is a matter of importance to the residents and an integral part of the town’s planning process. Many 19th-century homes have been carefully preserved. As an incorporated municipality, Poolesville has responsibility for property taxes, zoning, planning, parks, streets, and maintainance of the public water/sewer system. Children who live within the corporate limits may attend Poolesville Elementary School, John Poole Middle School, and Poolesville High School. But residents agree that Poolesville’s most valuable asset is its combination of small town character and rural setting. The John Poole House, built in 1793, is a historic landmark in downtown Poolesville.