Charles County, Maryland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

is La Plata
La Plata, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...

. This county was named for Charles Calvert

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore

Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor and 6th and 9th Proprietary Governor of Maryland , inherited the colony in 1675 upon the death of his father, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. He had been his father's Deputy Governor since 1661 when he arrived in the colony at the age of 24...

(1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore

Baron Baltimore

Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore Manor in County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 for George Calvert and became extinct on the death of the sixth Baron in 1771. The title was held by several members of the Calvert family who were proprietors of the palatinates...

.

Charles County is a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area

Washington Metropolitan Area

The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...

History

Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council. There was an earlier Charles County from 1650 to 1653, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County.

In April 1865, John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...

made his escape through Charles County after shooting President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. He was on his way to Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

.

On April 28, 2002, a tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

cut through the County and destroyed much of downtown La Plata

La Plata, Maryland

La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...

.

The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places listings in Charles County, Maryland

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Charles County, Maryland.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Charles County, Maryland, United States...

Law and Government

Charles County is reliably Democratic, although not as overwhelmingly so as other parts of Maryland's Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

suburbs.

Board of Commissioners

Charles County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. There are five commissioners. , they are:

	Name	Affiliation	District
President	Candice Quinn Kelly	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	At-Large
Commissioner	Reuben B. Collins, II	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Vice President
Commissioner	Ken Robinson	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	District 1
Commissioner	Debra M. Davis, Esq.	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	District 2
Commissioner	Bobby Rucci	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	District 4

Charles County is entirely located within the 5th Congressional District. The current representative is Democratic House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 643.22 square miles (1,665.9 km²), of which 461 square miles (1,194 km²) (or 71.67%) is land and 182.22 square miles (471.9 km²) (or 28.33%) is water.

In its western wing, along the southernmost bend in Maryland Route 224

Maryland Route 224

Maryland Route 224 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 6 in Riverside north to MD 227 in Pomonkey. MD 224 is one of the main highways of southwestern Charles County, connecting several villages, state parks, and preserves along the Potomac River and...

, Charles County contains a rare instance where the traveler is due north, east, south, and west of the same state—Virginia.

Adjacent counties

Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....

(north)
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...

(northwest)
Calvert County
Calvert County, Maryland
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...

(east)
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state, and just across the Rappahannock River from the City of Fredericksburg. As of the 2000 census, the population was 92,446, increasing to 128,961 in 2010.. Its county seat is Stafford. In 2006, and again in 2009,...

(west)
Prince William County, Virginia
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...

(west)
St. Mary's County
Saint Mary's County, Maryland
Saint Mary's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 105,151. Its county seat is Leonardtown...

(southeast)
Westmoreland County, Virginia
Westmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...

(southeast)
King George County, Virginia
King George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile . There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...

(south)

Top employers

According to the County's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers by number of employees in the county are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Charles County Board of Education Charles County Public Schools The Charles County school system is a public school system run by the Charles County Board of Education and is funded by Charles County, Maryland through the taxpayers.- High Schools:*La Plata High School, La Plata, MD...	3,509
2	Naval Surface Warfare Center Naval Surface Warfare Center The Naval Sea Systems Command Warfare Centers are composed of the Naval Surface Warfare Centers and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center . They operate in a seamless, integrated manner, and they collaborate with customers using a common work assignment process to get the right work to the right...	3,021
3	Charles County Government	1,719
4	College of Southern Maryland College of Southern Maryland The College of Southern Maryland in La Plata, Maryland, is a public, regional community college, serving Southern Maryland Charles County, St. Mary's County, and Calvert County.-History:...	1,090
5	Civista Medical Center CIVISTA Medical Center CIVISTA Medical Center is a hospital located in Charles County, in southern Maryland. It was formerly called Physicians Memorial Hospital.The hospital is owned and managed by CIVISTA Health System, a regional, not-for-profit, integrated health system serving Charles County and the surrounding areas...	805
6	Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...	674
7	Facchina	480
8	Target Target Corporation Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...	467
9	Reliable Contracting	420
10	Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is an electric distribution cooperative which is headquartered in Hughesville, Maryland. SMECO serves approximately 144,000 customers in Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, and St. Mary's counties of southern Maryland...	379
11	The Wills Group	377
12	Genesis HealthCare Genesis HealthCare is a leading provider of short-term post-acute, rehabilitation, skilled nursing and long-term care services. As of 2011, Genesis operates over 200 skilled nursing centers and assisted living residences in 13 eastern states. Genesis also supplies rehabilitation therapy to over 1,100 healthcare...	320
13	Lowes	306
14	Macy's Macy's Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...	250
15	Charles County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center	250
16	Chaney Enterprises	226
17	Sears	220
18	Keller Bus Service	206

Transportation

One United States Numbered Highway

United States Numbered Highways

The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...

runs through the county U.S. Route 301

U.S. Route 301

U.S. Route 301 is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It currently runs 1,099 miles from Glasgow, Delaware at U.S. Route 40 to Sarasota, Florida. It passes through the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida...

, some other notable highways are:

Maryland Route 5
Maryland Route 5
Maryland Route 5 is a long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout in St. Mary's County north to the Washington, D.C. border in Suitland, Prince George's County....
Maryland Route 6
Maryland Route 6
Maryland Route 6 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from a dead end at the Potomac River in Riverside east to MD 235 in Oraville. MD 6 connects several small communities in southern Charles County and northern St. Mary's County with U.S. Route 301 in La...
Maryland Route 210
Maryland Route 210
Maryland Route 210 , or Indian Head Highway, is a state highway in Prince George's and Charles counties in Maryland. At its northern end, MD 210 starts from the end of South Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., connecting the U.S. Capitol with Indian Head, Maryland...
Maryland Route 224
Maryland Route 224
Maryland Route 224 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from MD 6 in Riverside north to MD 227 in Pomonkey. MD 224 is one of the main highways of southwestern Charles County, connecting several villages, state parks, and preserves along the Potomac River and...
Maryland Route 228
Maryland Route 228
Maryland Route 228 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Berry Road, the state highway runs from MD 210 in Accokeek east to U.S. Route 301 and MD 5 Business in Waldorf...
Maryland Route 925
Maryland Route 925
Maryland Route 925 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Old Washington Road, the state highway runs from Billingsley Road in White Plains north to MD 5 Business in Waldorf. MD 925 and the county-maintained portion of Old Washington Road to the north comprise the old...

Hunters Brooke Arson

On December 4, 2004 an arson took place in the development of Hunters Brooke which is located a few miles southeast of Indian Head

Indian Head, Maryland

Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900...

.
It later became the largest residential arson in the history of the state of Maryland

Maryland

Demographics

Historical populations
of Charles County
>	Year	Population
1790	20,613
1800	19,172
1810	20,245
1820	16,500
1830	17,769
1840	16,023
1850	16,162
1860	16,517
1870	15,738
1880	18,548
1890	15,191

> Year Population 1900 17,662 1910 16,386 1920 17,705 1930 16,166 1940 17,612 1950 23,415 1960 32,572 1970 47,678 1980 72,751 1990 101,154 2000 120,546 2010 146,551

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

50.3% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
41.0% Black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
0.7% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
3.0% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
3.7% Two or more races
Multiracial American
Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
1.2% Other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
4.3% Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

(of any race)

2000

The county is experiencing a dramatic growth in African-American population, which began in 1990. Census figures below are from 2000:

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 120,546 people, 41,668 households, and 32,292 families residing in the county. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 262 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 43,903 housing units at an average density of 95 per square mile (37/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.51% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 26.06% Black

Race (United States Census)

or African American

Race (United States Census)

, 0.75% Native American

Race (United States Census)

, 1.82% Asian

Race (United States Census)

, 0.06% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

, 0.72% from other races

Race (United States Census)

, and 2.08% from two or more races. 2.26% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

or Latino

Race (United States Census)

of any race. 11.6% were of German, 10.8% Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

, 10.2% English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

, 9.3% American and 5.3% Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 41,668 households out of which 41.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.50% were non-families. 17.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 33.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $62,199, and the median income for a family was $67,602 (these figures had risen to $80,573 and $89,358 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $43,371 versus $34,231 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the county was $24,285. About 3.70% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010 the county population's racial makeup was 48.38% Non-Hispanic whites, 40.96% blacks, 0.65% Native Americans, 2.98% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islanders, 0.17% Non-Hispanics of some other race, 3.20% Non-Hispanics reporting more than one race and 4.27% Hispanic.

Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

Indian Head
Indian Head, Maryland
Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900...

(incorporated 1920)
La Plata
La Plata, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...

(incorporated 1888)
Port Tobacco Village
Port Tobacco Village, Maryland
Port Tobacco, officially Port Tobacco Village, is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15 at the 2000 census, making Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland....

(incorporated 1888) (Note that, despite its name, Port Tobacco Village is a town, not a village.)

All three are classified as town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

s under Maryland law. About half the County population lives around the large unincorporated community of Waldorf, Maryland

Waldorf, Maryland

Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...

.

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

s in the county:

Bennsville
Bennsville, Maryland
Bennsville is a census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,325 at the 2000 census. The area is not an official postal designation, but is part of the Waldorf or Pomfret postal area...
Bryans Road
Bryans Road, Maryland
Bryans Road is a census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Bryans Road was named after Oliver Norris Bryan, a 19th century farmer and scientist who owned and operated Locust Grove Farm near Marshall Hall, Maryland. The area consisted mostly of tobacco farms until the...
Hughesville
Hughesville, Maryland
Hughesville is a census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census. Truman's Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.-Geography:...
Potomac Heights
Saint Charles
St. Charles, Maryland
St. Charles is a census-designated place and planned community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C., from northern Virginia and immediately south of Waldorf, which is the mailing address....
Waldorf
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...

Other unincorporated places not listed as Census-Designated Places but known in the area include:

Bel Alton
Bel Alton, Maryland
Bel Alton is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States.It is marked by old-style motels, a popular "bikers'" tavern, and other small businesses along U.S. Highway 301 catering to local residents and interstate travelers. Bel Alton is much smaller than its name in dark...
Benedict
Benedict, Maryland
Benedict, Maryland is a small unincorporated town in Charles County, Maryland, located on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland, USA.-History:...
Bryantown
Bryantown, Maryland
Bryantown is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Maryland Route 5. Bryantown stands on land known as Boarman's Manor, a manor granted to Major William Boarman in 1674....
Cobb Island
Dentsville
Dentsville, Maryland
Dentsville is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States, marked by a convenience store in operation since 1906, and adjacent small businesses, including the Dentsville Rescue Squad and Auxiliary founded in 1998 on Maryland Route 6 east of La Plata. It was named after...
Faulkner
Faulkner, Maryland
Faulkner is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is home to the Loyola Roman Catholic retreat center. Near here, John Wilkes Booth, assisted by Thomas A. Jones of Huckleberry Farm, was rowed across the Potomac River into Virginia, a week after he assassinated...
Grayton
Ironsides
Ironsides, Maryland
Ironsides is an unincorporated community or "post village" in Charles County, Maryland, United States with zip code 20643. The Post Office was established in 1897 and remained open until at least 1976. Today Ironsides area residents have Indian Head or Nanjemoy addresses...
Issue
Malcolm
Malcolm, Maryland
Malcolm, Maryland is a small community, essentially centered around a five-way intersection in Charles County, Maryland, about 7 miles east of Waldorf. Horsehead Road, one of the five roads meeting here, was the route traveled by John Wilkes Booth to Dr. Mudd's house after Booth's assassination...
Marbury
Marbury, Maryland
Marbury is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland. It has been designated the zip code of 20658.It is 6.3 miles from Indian Head on Maryland Route 224....
Morgantown
Morgantown, Maryland
Morgantown is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland. It lies south of the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge on the Potomac River at Lower Cedar Point. It is known for the Mirant Morgantown Generating Station smokestacks. In 2007, a controversial coal barge loading facility...
Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, Maryland
Mount Victoria is an unincorporated community in southern Charles County, Maryland, United States, between the Wicomico and Potomac Rivers. It was named for an enormous farm of owned by Robert Crain, an attorney and farmer whose lobbying efforts led to the opening in 1927 of the Maryland portion...
Nanjemoy
Nanjemoy, Maryland
Nanjemoy is a settlement along Maryland Route 6 in southwestern Charles County, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding large rural area more or less bounded by Nanjemoy Creek to the east and north, and the Potomac River to the south and west. It and the creek draw their names from a Native...
Newburg
Newburg, Maryland
Newburg is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Newburg has two stores, a lodge hall, a fire department, as well as the Piccowaxen Middle School and Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary, both serving the entire Cobb Neck peninsula ....
Pisgah
Pisgah, Maryland
Pisgah is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States....
Pomfret
Pomfret, Maryland
Pomfret is a small crossroads in Charles County, Maryland. Maurice J. McDonough High School is nearby and has a Pomfret mailing address. The active historic Catholic church established by Father George Hunter, S.J. in 1763 is located in Pomfret. The current structure dates from 1849...
Popes Creek
Popes Creek, Maryland
Popes Creek is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the shore of a north-south section of the Potomac River north of and in sight of the Harry Nice Memorial Bridge. There are docks and several seafood restaurants. U.S. Route 301 in Maryland runs...
Pomonkey
Ripley
Ripley, Maryland
Ripley is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It was named after a local family, and has a large Baptist church....
Rison
Rison, Maryland
Rison is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The Rison post office was established in 1905, but the area's residents are now part of the 20640 zip code area for nearby Indian Head, Maryland. Its elevation is 50 feet and it had a population of 50 in 1941...
Rock Point
Rock Point, Maryland
Rock Point is an unincorporated community located near Cobb Island at the mouth of the Wicomico River in Charles County, Maryland, United States.Rock Point was named for the rockfish, or striped bass...
Swan Point
Swan Point, Maryland
Swan Point is an unincorporated community in southern Charles County, Maryland, United States. The Swan Point housing development was constructed in the 1980s around an 18-hole waterfront golf course; there are also a community pool and a church. Although the community is largely unchanged since...
Welcome
Welcome, Maryland
Welcome is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland. The designated zip code is 20693.It is 7 miles from La Plata on Rt 6 West. The Goose Bay campground and marina are also located in Welcome...
White Plains
White Plains, Maryland
White Plains is an unincorporated community located in Charles County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America, just south of Waldorf, Maryland. It is located at latitude 38°35'25" North; longitude 76°56'26" West. The United States Postal Service has assigned White Plains the ZIP...

Colleges and universities

College of Southern Maryland
College of Southern Maryland
The College of Southern Maryland in La Plata, Maryland, is a public, regional community college, serving Southern Maryland Charles County, St. Mary's County, and Calvert County.-History:...

, in La Plata
La Plata, Maryland
La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...

.

Notable residents

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long
Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long
Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long was born July 23, 1798 in Charles County, Maryland, the niece of General James Wilkinson. Around 1811, her family moved from Maryland to Natchez, in the Mississippi Territory. There she married James Long, a doctor and a native of Virginia...

(1798–1880) is considered to be the “Mother of Texas.”
Benjamin Stoddert
Benjamin Stoddert
Benjamin Stoddert was the first United States Secretary of the Navy from May 1, 1798 to March 31, 1801.-Early life:...

(1751–1813), first United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Samuel Alexander Mudd (1833–1883)- Born in Charles County, Mudd is the Maryland doctor implicated and imprisoned for aiding John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...

in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

.
George Cary
George Cary
George Cary was a United States Representative from Georgia. He was born near Allens Fresh, Charles County, Maryland. He received a classical education and studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Frederick, Maryland. He was also engaged in agricultural pursuits.Cary...

(1811–1850), born near Allens Fresh in Charles County, United States Congressman from Georgia
James Neale
James Neale
Captain James Neale was an influential early immigrant to Maryland.-Early life:Neale was born to Raphael and Jane Neale of Drury Lane, London and of Wollaston, Northamptonshire, England. One of his daughters was Henrietta Maria Neale, who marriedRichard Bennett Jr., son of Governor Richard...

(1615–1684) Born Drury Lane, London, England immigrated 1634, founded Wollaston Manor plantation and Cobb Island.
Prominent American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

statesmen John Hanson
John Hanson
John Hanson was a merchant and public official from Maryland during the era of the American Revolution. After serving in a variety of roles for the Patriot cause in Maryland, in 1779 Hanson was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress...

, Thomas Stone
Thomas Stone
Thomas Stone was an American planter who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a delegate for Maryland. He later worked on the committee that formed the Articles of Confederation in 1777...

, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer was a politician and a Founding Father of the United States. Born long before conflicts with Great Britain emerged, he was a leader for many years in Maryland's colonial government...

, and General William Smallwood
William Smallwood
William Smallwood was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland. He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general...
Barnes Compton
Barnes Compton
Barnes Compton was a wealthy planter who became a politician at the state level before the Civil War. He was appointed as Maryland State Treasurer, serving 1872-1885. He was elected to the US House of Representatives from the fifth congressional district of Maryland...

, US Congressman
James Craik
James Craik
James Craik was Physician General of the United States Army, as well as George Washington's personal physician and close friend.-Education and emigration to America:...

Physician General during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, and Gustavus Richard Brown
Gustavus Richard Brown
Gustavus Richard Brown was a lifelong friend of George Washington, a physician, helped found the hospital department of the Continental Army, and a botanist. He is best known as one of the doctors summoned to attend to George Washington the night he died.Gustavus Brown studied medicine in...

were George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

's physicians.
Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson was an author, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery in Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Ontario, Canada in 1830, and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves at Dawn, near Dresden in Kent County...

(1789–1883) former slave and author.
Co-discoverer of the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

Matthew Henson
Matthew Henson
Matthew Alexander Henson was an African American explorer and associate of Robert Peary during various expeditions, the most famous being a 1909 expedition which it was discovered that he was the the first person to reach the Geographic North Pole.-Life:Henson was born on a farm in Nanjemoy,...

(African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

) and Captain Raphael Semmes
Raphael Semmes
For other uses, see Semmes .Raphael Semmes was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 - 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 - 1865. During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama, taking a record sixty-nine prizes...

of the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

ship "Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

" were born near Nanjemoy.
Chuck Brown
Chuck Brown
Chuck Brown is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s...

, hip-hop musician, lives in Waldorf
Christina Milian
Christina Milian
Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....

, musician, lived in Waldorf
Joel
Joel Madden
Joel Rueben Madden is an American singer, record producer, actor, DJ, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte.-Early life:...

and Benji Madden
Benji Madden
Benji Madden is an American guitarist and backup vocalist for the band Good Charlotte, which he co-founded with his identical twin brother, Joel Madden.-Early life:...

from the band Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...

grew up in Waldorf
Robert Stethem
Robert Stethem
Robert Dean Stethem was a United States Navy Seabee diver who was killed by Hezbollah militants during the hijacking of the commercial airliner he was aboard: TWA Flight 847...

, noted terror hijacking victim, grew up in Pinefield, Waldorf
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...

(1945–1994), legendary guitarist, lived in Newburg
Larry Johnson, running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

is from Pomfret, Maryland
Pomfret, Maryland
Pomfret is a small crossroads in Charles County, Maryland. Maurice J. McDonough High School is nearby and has a Pomfret mailing address. The active historic Catholic church established by Father George Hunter, S.J. in 1763 is located in Pomfret. The current structure dates from 1849...

.
Randy Starks
Randy Starks
Randolph "Randy" Starks, Jr. is an American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

, defensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

is from Waldorf
Waldorf
- People :* William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor , financier and statesman* Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor , businessman and politician- Communities :United States* Waldorf, Maryland* Waldorf, MinnesotaGermany...

.

Sports

Club	League	Venue	Established	Championships
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs is an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2008 season...	ALPB Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League... , Baseball	Regency Furniture Stadium Regency Furniture Stadium Regency Furniture Stadium is a 4,200-seat baseball park in Waldorf, Maryland that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 2, 2008, as the tenants of the facility, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers, 3-2. For the 2010 baseball season, the collegiate...	2008	0

External links

Charles County Government
- Charles County Commissioners' Office

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