Edmonston, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Edmonston is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland
, in the United States
. As of the 2000 census
, the town population was 959.
It is 2.5 miles (4 km) from Washington, D.C.
Edmonston's ZIP code
is 20781.
, family. He was called “Captain” because he owned a large ship. In 1742, he paid five shilling
s for a piece of land upon which the town of Edmonston eventually developed.
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 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) 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 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) 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.
In the late 19th century, a pumping station was constructed in the Palestine subdivision that supplied water to the city of Hyattsville
. In 1920, operations were taken over by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
. Also in the Palestine subdivision was the first school to serve the future town of Edmonston. Constructed in 1915, the building has undergone several phases of additions and alterations.
After World War I, the residents of East Hyattsville and Palestine began a movement toward incorporation to improve services. Compared to the established Hyattsville, incorporated in 1886, East Hyattsville contained more working class residents, more modest houses, and more immigrants. When incorporating in 1924, the residents decided to choose a name that would give the town an identity independent from Hyattsville and chose "Edmonston" after a major north-south road adjacent to the town and the original landowner. By 1924, there were several hundred residents; at 49th Avenue and Decatur Street, there was a small neighborhood center with a few stores and a post office. Only the small grocery store remains today. The first items on the agenda for the new municipality were street paving and lighting, construction of a concrete bridge across the Anacostia River, and arrangement with the fledgling Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission to bring water and sewer pipes into the town.
Edmonston's Mayor in 1927 was Kinjiro Matsudaira, the grandson of a Japanese feudal lord. His election received attention in the Philadelphia press at the time with the somewhat inaccurate lead, “Japanese Elected Mayor of American City for the First Time in History.” His father, Tadaatsu, came to the United States in 1872 to study and stayed to marry an American woman and pursue a distinguished career in civil engineering. Kinjiro Matsudaira, born in Pennsylvania in 1885, was elected Mayor of Edmonston for a second time in 1943, during World War II. Kinjiro Matsudaira married Ellen Screven née Nettles née Chisolm. Ellen Screven Matsudaira is a descendant of Charles Edmondston and George Chisolm, Charleston, SC, and also a descendant of George Gaillard Ford, Georgetown, SC, and Samuel Prioleau, a Revolutionary War Patriot. Kinjiro and Ellen had a daughter, Haru Dent, née Matsudaira, and a son, Robert Matsudaira, Sr.
In 1925, an undeveloped part of the original Palestine subdivision was platted as the Funkhouser subdivision. The land was divided into 40 lots upon which Robert Funkhouser constructed a small bungalow on each. The houses were completed in 1926 and quickly sold. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, development consisted of sporadic house construction on vacant lots within the established subdivisions. After World War II, the Edmonston Terrace subdivision was constructed consisting of an organized development of 41 nearly identical two-story, brick side-gable houses. Residential construction during the 1950s and 1960s returned to infill
. Also constructed during the 1960s was the Fountain Park apartment complex. The town is “land-locked” by adjacent communities prohibiting expansion of the municipal boundaries.
Current elected officials:
Current Chief of Police:
Stephen E. Walker Sr.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), of which, 0.4 square miles (1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (5.13%) is water.
of 2000, there were 959 people, 303 households, and 216 families residing in the town. The population density
was 2,591.0 people per square mile (1,000.7/km²). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 891.6 per square mile (344.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 43.59% White, 41.08% African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 10.32% from other races
, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.19% of the population.
There were 303 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples
living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,813, and the median income for a family was $56,875. Males had a median income of $35,966 versus $33,846 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $19,830. About 1.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Nearby Private Schools
1930 United States Federal Census Record Regarding Kinjiro and Ellen Matsudaira
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....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the town population was 959.
It is 2.5 miles (4 km) from 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....
Edmonston's ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
is 20781.
History
The area of present day Edmonston probably acquired its name from Captain James Edmonston, a member of a prominent Bladensburg, MarylandBladensburg, Maryland
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...
, family. He was called “Captain” because he owned a large ship. In 1742, he paid five shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s for a piece of land upon which the town of Edmonston eventually developed.
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 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) 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 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) 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.
In the late 19th century, a pumping station was constructed in the Palestine subdivision that supplied water to the city of Hyattsville
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
. In 1920, operations were taken over by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission provides safe drinking water and wastewater treatment for Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. It was established on May 1, 1918. It is the eighth largest water and wastewater utility in the United States. The WSSC serves about 1.8 million...
. Also in the Palestine subdivision was the first school to serve the future town of Edmonston. Constructed in 1915, the building has undergone several phases of additions and alterations.
After World War I, the residents of East Hyattsville and Palestine began a movement toward incorporation to improve services. Compared to the established Hyattsville, incorporated in 1886, East Hyattsville contained more working class residents, more modest houses, and more immigrants. When incorporating in 1924, the residents decided to choose a name that would give the town an identity independent from Hyattsville and chose "Edmonston" after a major north-south road adjacent to the town and the original landowner. By 1924, there were several hundred residents; at 49th Avenue and Decatur Street, there was a small neighborhood center with a few stores and a post office. Only the small grocery store remains today. The first items on the agenda for the new municipality were street paving and lighting, construction of a concrete bridge across the Anacostia River, and arrangement with the fledgling Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission to bring water and sewer pipes into the town.
Edmonston's Mayor in 1927 was Kinjiro Matsudaira, the grandson of a Japanese feudal lord. His election received attention in the Philadelphia press at the time with the somewhat inaccurate lead, “Japanese Elected Mayor of American City for the First Time in History.” His father, Tadaatsu, came to the United States in 1872 to study and stayed to marry an American woman and pursue a distinguished career in civil engineering. Kinjiro Matsudaira, born in Pennsylvania in 1885, was elected Mayor of Edmonston for a second time in 1943, during World War II. Kinjiro Matsudaira married Ellen Screven née Nettles née Chisolm. Ellen Screven Matsudaira is a descendant of Charles Edmondston and George Chisolm, Charleston, SC, and also a descendant of George Gaillard Ford, Georgetown, SC, and Samuel Prioleau, a Revolutionary War Patriot. Kinjiro and Ellen had a daughter, Haru Dent, née Matsudaira, and a son, Robert Matsudaira, Sr.
In 1925, an undeveloped part of the original Palestine subdivision was platted as the Funkhouser subdivision. The land was divided into 40 lots upon which Robert Funkhouser constructed a small bungalow on each. The houses were completed in 1926 and quickly sold. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, development consisted of sporadic house construction on vacant lots within the established subdivisions. After World War II, the Edmonston Terrace subdivision was constructed consisting of an organized development of 41 nearly identical two-story, brick side-gable houses. Residential construction during the 1950s and 1960s returned to infill
Infill
Infill in its broadest meaning is material that fills in an otherwise unoccupied space. The term is commonly used in association with construction techniques such as wattle and daub, and civil engineering activities such as land reclamation.-Construction:...
. Also constructed during the 1960s was the Fountain Park apartment complex. The town is “land-locked” by adjacent communities prohibiting expansion of the municipal boundaries.
Government
The Edmonston municipal government consists of four members of Council and a Mayor who, beginning in May 2008, are elected to three-year terms. Elected positions are essentially volunteer in nature and are paid a small stipend for expenses. The structure of the government is a mostly "strong" mayor system, meaning that the mayor has administrative control over government operations and presents his or her budget each year for adoption, though the appointment of department heads must meet the approval of the Council. Edmonston's Mayor sits as President of the Council, though can only vote to break a tie on the Council.Current elected officials:
- Adam C. Ortiz - Mayor
- Lynta Giddens, Robert Kerns - Ward One Councilmembers
- Tracy Farrish, Elizabeth "Betsy" McCauley - Ward Two Councilmembers
Current Chief of Police:
Stephen E. Walker Sr.
Bordering Areas
- BladensburgBladensburg, MarylandBladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...
(Southeast) - Riverdale ParkRiverdale Park, MarylandRiverdale Park is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Riverdale Park is located at ....
(Northeast) - HyattsvilleHyattsville, MarylandHyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
(Northwest) - North BrentwoodNorth Brentwood, MarylandNorth Brentwood is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 469 at the 2000 census. The municipality of North Brentwood is located north of Washington, D.C., and is surrounded by the communities of Hyattsville, Brentwood, and Cottage City...
(Southwest)
Geography
Edmonston is located at 38°57′3"N 76°56′0"W (38.950793, -76.933423).According to 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 town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), of which, 0.4 square miles (1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (5.13%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 959 people, 303 households, and 216 families residing in the town. 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 2,591.0 people per square mile (1,000.7/km²). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 891.6 per square mile (344.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 43.59% White, 41.08% African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 10.32% from 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...
, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.19% of the population.
There were 303 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% 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, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,813, and the median income for a family was $56,875. Males had a median income of $35,966 versus $33,846 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 town was $19,830. About 1.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Edmonston is zoned to Prince George's County Public SchoolsPrince George's County Public Schools
The Prince George's County Public Schools system is a large school district administered by the government of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States and is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education...
- Riverdale Elementary
- Hyattsville Middle School
- Rogers Heights Elementary School
- William Wirt Middle School
- Bladensburg High SchoolBladensburg High SchoolBladensburg High School is a secondary school located in Bladensburg, Maryland.The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district....
Nearby Private Schools
- Dematha Catholic High School
- Elizabeth Seton High School
- Holy Redeemer Elementary School
- Christian Family Montessori School
- Friends Community School
External links
1930 United States Federal Census Record Regarding Kinjiro and Ellen Matsudaira