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

As of 2000, the population was 120,546. Its county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637-1715), third Baron Baltimore.

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

History

Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council. It should be noted that from 1650 to 1653 there was an earlier Charles County, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County.

On April 28, 2002, a tornado cut through the County and destroyed much of downtown La Plata.

Twenty-six upscale homes under construction in the Indian Head community in the northern part of the County were burned on December 6, 2004; 10 of the 26 were totally destroyed. The fires were found to be arson. One early theory was that the fires were set as a hate crime motivated by the fact that many of those who had purchased homes in the subdivision under construction (called Hunters Brooke) were African American. Another theory is that the fires were set by a radical environmental group such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), since the homes were being built near a wetland. However, it is now believed that the suspects -- five young white men -- simply had grievances with the developer of Hunters Brooke. All of the damaged and destroyed homes will be rebuilt.

Law/Government

Charles County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,666 km² (643 mi²). 1,194 km² (461 mi²) of it is land and 472 km² (182 mi²) of it (28.33%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 120,546 people, 41,668 households, and 32,292 families residing in the county. The population density was 101/km² (262/mi²). There were 43,903 housing units at an average density of 37/km² (95/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.51% White, 26.06% Black or African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. 2.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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 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. Males had a median income of $43,371 versus $34,231 for females. The per capita income 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.

Cities and towns

  1. Indian Head (incorporated 1920)
  2. La Plata (incorporated 1888)
  3. Port Tobacco Village (incorporated 1888) (Note that, despite its name, Port Tobacco Village is a town, not a village.)

All three are classified as towns under Maryland law.

  1. Bennsville
  2. Bryans Road
  3. Hughesville
  4. Potomac Heights
  5. Saint Charles
  6. Waldorf

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

  1. Bel Alton
  2. Benedict
  3. Bryantown
  4. Cobb Island
  5. Dentsville
  6. Faulkner
  7. Ironsides
  8. Issue
  9. Marbury
  10. Morgantown
  11. Mount Victoria
  12. Nanjemoy
  13. Newburg
  14. Pisgah
  15. Pomfret
  16. Rison
  17. Rock Point
  18. Swan Point
  19. Welcome
  20. White Plains

Colleges and universities

External links

Maryland counties | Charles County, Maryland | Potomac River counties | Washington, D.C. suburbs

Condado de Charles (Maryland) | Condado de Charles

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Charles County, Maryland".

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