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Prince George's County, Maryland

Encyclopedia : P : PR : PRI : Prince George's County, Maryland

Not to be confused with Prince George County, Virginia
Prince George's County is a suburban county located in the U.S. state of Maryland immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. It is home to the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Andrews Air Force Base, the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, Six Flags America & Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Ikea, and FedEx Field (home of the Washington Redskins).

The county was named for Prince George of Denmark, the brother of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway, and husband of Queen Anne of Great Britain. Its county seat is Upper Marlboro.

The county is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.

Contents

History

Prince George's County was created in 1696 from portions of Charles and Calvert Counties, and a portion was detached in 1748 to form Frederick County. Since Frederick County was subsequently divided to form the present Allegany, Garrett, Montgomery, and Washington counties, all of these counties in addition were derived from what had up to 1748 been Prince George's County. Another portion later became part of the District of Columbia when that entity was formed in 1791.

On July 1, 1997, the Prince George's County section of the city of Takoma Park, Maryland, which straddled the boundary between Prince George's and Montgomery counties, was transferred to Montgomery County. This was done after city residents voted to be under the sole jurisdiction of Montgomery County, and subsequent approval by both counties and the Maryland General Assembly. This was the first change in Prince George's County's boundaries since 1791, and the first alteration of the boundaries of any county in Maryland since the early 1900s. This event passed with little controversy, yet to this day many residents question why the Prince George's County Council so easily allowed the boundary to be changed, which resulted in a loss of several thousand residents and a great amount of property tax revenue.

A scandal erupted in 2004 when Prince George's County Schools Chief, Andre Hornsby, purchased $1 million in educational software from Leapfrog Enterprises Inc, a company that employed his live-in girlfriend, Sienna Owens, as a saleswoman. Amid an FBI investigation, Hornsby resigned on May 27, 2005.

Law and government

 Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democrat
2004 17.4% ''55,532 81.8% ''260,532
2000 18.4% ''49,987 79.5% ''216,119
1996 21.9% ''52,697 73.5% ''176,612
1992 24.5% ''62,955 65.7% ''168,691
1988 38.8% ''86,545 60.0% ''133,816
1984 41.0% ''136,063 58.6% ''95,121
1980 40.7% ''78,977 '50.9% 98,757
1976 42.0% ''81,027 58.0% ''111,743
1972 58.5% ''116,166 40.3% ''79,914
1968 41.2% ''73,269 40.3% ''71,524
1964 36.2% ''46,413 63.8% ''81,806
1960 42.0% ''44,817 58.0% ''62,013
Since 1792, the county seat has been Upper Marlboro. Prior to 1792, the county seat was located at Mount Calvert, a 76 acre (308,000 m²) estate along the Patuxent River on the edge of what is now in the unincorporated community of Croom.

Prince George's County was granted a charter form of government in 1970.

County Executive

See also: 2006 Prince George's County Executive Election.
Name Party Term
William W. Gullett Democrat 1970-1974
Win Kelly Democrat 1974-1978
Lawrence Hogan Republican 1978-1982
Parris N. Glendening Democrat 1982-1994
Wayne K. Curry Democrat 1994-2002
Jack B. Johnson Democrat 2002-2006

State's Attorney

The current State's Attorney is Glenn F. Ivey.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 498 mi² (1,291 km²). 485 mi² (1,257 km²) of it is land and 13 mi² (34 km²) of it (2.61%) is water.

Adjacent Jurisdictions

Demographics

As of the estimated census² of 2004, there were 842,967 people, 286,610 households, and 198,047 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,651/mi² (638/km²). There were 308,929 housing units at an average density of 1,651.1/mi² (241/km²).

There were 286,610 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.00% were married couples living together, 19.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 persons and the average family size was 3.25 persons.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 33.00% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $55,256, and the median income for a family was $62,467. Males had a median income of $38,904 versus $35,718 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,360. About 5.30% of families and 7.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.20% of those under age 18 and 6.90% of those age 65 or over. Prince George's County is the most affluent county with an African American majority in the United States.

Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

#Bowie (incorporated 1882)
#College Park (incorporated 1945)
#District Heights (incorporated 1936)
#Glenarden (incorporated 1939)
#Greenbelt (incorporated 1937)
#Hyattsville (incorporated 1886)
#Laurel (incorporated 1870)
#Mount Rainier (incorporated 1910)
#New Carrollton (incorporated 1953)
#Seat Pleasant (incorporated 1931)
:The city of Takoma Park was formerly partly in Prince George's County, but since 1997 has been entirely in Montgomery County.
  • 17 Towns:
    • #Berwyn Heights (incorporated 1896)
    #Bladensburg (incorporated 1854)
    #Brentwood (incorporated 1922)
    #Capitol Heights (incorporated 1910)
    #Cheverly (incorporated 1931)
    #Colmar Manor (incorporated 1927)
    #Cottage City (incorporated 1924) (note that, despite the name, Cottage City is a town and not a city.)
    #Eagle Harbor (incorporated 1929)
    #Edmonston (incorporated 1924)
    #Fairmount Heights (incorporated 1935)
    #Forest Heights (incorporated 1945)
    #Landover Hills (incorporated 1945)
    #Morningside (incorporated 1949)
    #North Brentwood (incorporated 1924)
    #Riverdale Park (incorporated 1920)
    #University Park (incorporated 1936)
    #Upper Marlboro (incorporated 1870)
    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, the United States Postal Service, 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 places in the county:

    1. Accokeek
    2. Adelphi
    3. Andrews Air Force Base
    4. Beltsville
    5. Brandywine
    6. Calverton (This CDP is shared between Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.)
    7. Camp Springs
    8. Carmody Hills-Pepper Mill Village (a combination of the communities of Carmody Hills and Pepper Mill Village recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
    9. Chillum
    10. Clinton
    11. Coral Hills
    12. East Riverdale
    13. Forestville
    14. Fort Washington
    15. Friendly
    16. Glenn Dale
    17. Goddard
    18. Greater Landover (Which houses the neighborhoods of Kentland, Palmer Park, Brightseat, Lansdowne Village, and portions of Largo and Capitol Heights)
    19. Greater Upper Marlboro
    20. Hillandale (This CDP is shared between Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.)
    21. Hillcrest Heights
    22. Kettering
    23. Lake Arbor
    24. Langley Park
    25. Lanham-Seabrook (a combination of the communities of Lanham and Seabrook recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
    26. Largo
    27. Marlow Heights
    28. Marlton
    29. Mitchellville
    30. Oxon Hill-Glassmanor (a combination of the communities of Oxon Hill and Glassmanor recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
    31. Rosaryville
    32. South Laurel
    33. Springdale
    34. Suitland-Silver Hill (a combination of the communities of Suitland and Silver Hill recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
    35. Temple Hills
    36. Walker Mill
    37. West Laurel
    38. Woodlawn (Note: this is also the name of a CDP in Baltimore County!)
    39. Woodmore
    Other unincorporated places not listed as Census-Designated Places but known in the area include:

    1. Aquasco
    2. Ardmore
    3. Avondale
    4. Berwyn
    5. Cheltenham
    6. Green Meadow
    7. Lewisdale
    8. Montpelier
    9. North College Park
    10. North Englewood
    11. Rogers Heights
    12. South Bowie
    13. Tuxedo
    14. West Bowie
    15. West Hyattsville
    And one locality: Muirkirk

    Sister Cities

    Prince George's County has three sister cities, as designated by [Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)]:

    Religion

    The county is home to over 800 churches, as well as a number of mosques, synagogues, and Hindu temples. Property belonging to religious entities makes up 3,450 acres (14 km²) of land in the county. [link]

    Hospital

    The main hospital facility, The Prince George's Hospital Medical Center is located in Cheverly.

    Education

    Colleges and universities

    Public schools

    The county's schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools system.

    Transportation

    Four terminus stations of the Washington Metro subway system are located in Prince George's County, at Greenbelt, New Carrollton, Largo, and Branch Avenue. The County also contains a large portion of the Capital Beltway. Also see Intercounty Connector.

    The College Park Airport is the world's oldest.

    External links

    		 State of Maryland
    Cities | Government | History | U.S. Senators and Representatives
    State capital:

    		 Annapolis
    Regions:

    		 Western | Southern | Eastern Shore | Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley
    Notable Cities:

    		 Baltimore, Maryland>Baltimore | Bowie | College Park | Cumberland | Frederick | Gaithersburg | Greenbelt | Hagerstown | Hyattsville | Laurel | Rockville | Salisbury | Takoma Park | Westminster
    Counties:

    		 Allegany | Anne Arundel | Baltimore City | Baltimore County | Calvert | Caroline | Carroll | Cecil | Charles | Dorchester | Frederick | Garrett | Harford | Howard | Kent | Montgomery | Prince George's | Queen Anne's | St. Mary's | Somerset | Talbot | Washington | Wicomico | Worcester

     

    From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
    All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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