Two subdivisions that would later comprise the town of Edmonston were platted in 1903: East Hyattsville and Palestine. The eastern section was developed in 1903 by J. Harris Rogers on two parcels of land he purchased in the 1880s and 1890s. Rogers platted into a subdivision of more than 170 lots known as East Hyattsville. The western half began with the subdivision of Dr. Charles A. Wells. Wells purchased the Palestine Farm from Benjamin Franklin Guy in 1878 and 1879 and continued the farm's dairy operations until 1903. In that year, 25 of the farm's acres were subdivided into 62 building lots of various sizes. Within the first decade, 55 houses were constructed in both subdivisions and many of them remain today. The earliest buildings were simple vernacular buildings such as the "I" house that were later adapted to the constraints of the narrow suburban building lot.