Waldorf, Maryland, United States

History | Geography | Economy | Arts and culture | Sport | Education | Transport | Utilities

🇺🇸 Waldorf is an unincorporated community and place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is located 23 miles (37 km) south-southeast of Washington. Waldorf was settled before 1900 as a rural crossroads with a train station and was called "Beantown" after a local family. Waldorf has experienced dramatic growth, increasing its population 16-fold from fewer than 5,000 residents in 1980 to its current population. It is now the largest commercial and residential area in Southern Maryland as well as a major suburb in the Washington metropolitan area.

History What is now the Waldorf area was originally part of the territory of the Piscataway Indian Nation, along with all of Southern Maryland, including Charles County. Close to the current western Waldorf area, the presence of villages, Indian grave sites (holding remains of over 1,000 people) and hunting encampments of Native American / Indian peoples have been confirmed, by archeological study of evidence dating from 1690 back to 6,000 years ago.

Europeans and African Americans first settled in the area in the 1600s. The town of Waldorf's original name was Beantown at least as far back as the American Civil War. During his flight after assassinating Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth told a road sentry he was headed to his home in Charles County near Beantown and was allowed to proceed. Booth later received medical attention for his broken leg from Dr. Samuel A. Mudd at his home in Waldorf, before continuing his flight. In 1880, the General Assembly of Maryland by an act changed the name to "Waldorf" in honor of William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919), the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), who was born in Walldorf, Palatinate, Germany. On July 29, 1908, the city of Plumb Valley in Waseca County, Minnesota, changed its name to Waldorf after Waldorf, Maryland.

Once a tobacco market village, Waldorf came to prominence in the 1950s as a gambling destination after slot machines were legalized in Charles County in 1949. The boom lasted until 1968, when gambling was once again outlawed. Its subsequent substantial growth as a residential community began with a 1970 loan package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which fueled the giant planned community of St. Charles, south of Waldorf.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 36.5 square miles (94.5 km²), of which 36.2 square miles (93.8 km²) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.7 km²), or 0.7%, is water.

The soils of Waldorf are known to contain various amounts of Marlboro Clay, a type that is only found in Southern Maryland. It can be either red or grey in color.

Economy Waldorf is predominantly a bedroom community for many residents who commute to work at other points in the Washington metropolitan area. Commuters work primarily in federal, professional services, and healthcare industries. Waldorf's local jobs are primarily in the service and sales industry, with healthcare and construction industries having a strong presence as well. St. Charles Towne Center, a two-story shopping mall, opened in 1988.

U.S. Route 301, the main highway through the city, boasts the "Waldorf Motor Mile", with car dealerships located primarily along the northbound side. In 2005, Waldorf opened its third public high school (North Point High School), which has advanced science/technology programs; the Capital Clubhouse 24-hour indoor sports complex and ice rink also opened that year.

Arts and culture Two branches of the Charles County Public Library are located in Waldorf: the P.D. Brown Memorial Branch, and the Waldorf West Branch.

The Piscataway Indian Nation operates a museum, a community centre, and the Maryland Indian Cultural Center in Waldorf.

Sport Regency Furniture Stadium is a 4,200 seat baseball park, soccer park and music concert centre in Waldorf.

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, established in 2006, complete in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, playing at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Capital Clubhouse is a 90,000 square foot sports complex, including an ice skating rink and multi-sports center; a recreational ice rink, a hockey centre and training facility, rock wall climbing gym, and numerous other sports and fitness gyms / fields in Waldorf.

Education Charles County Public Schools is the area school district.

Westlake High School, St. Charles High School, North Point High School, and Thomas Stone High School are public high schools in Waldorf.

St. Peter's School is a Catholic kindergarten through 8th grade school in Waldorf. Children of all faiths may attend. Grace Christian Academy is also in Waldorf and extends through high school grades.

The Beddow School's Waldorf Montessori Campus is in Waldorf.

The largest one of the four campuses of College of Southern Maryland is located minutes away, between Waldorf and La Plata.

Transport Major routes Major routes in Waldorf include U.S. Route 301 which is the main commercial thoroughfare and bisects Waldorf running northeast–southwest, the southern leg of Maryland Route 5 (Leonardtown Road) which starts in Waldorf and runs south into St. Mary's County, to Leonardtown and then beyond to eventually reach Point Lookout State Park. Maryland Route 228 (Berry Road) which starts at 301 and cuts west-northwest across to Indian Head Highway, Maryland Route 925 (Old Washington Road) which starts on the southern branch of Route 5 and runs 3 miles south-west to White Plains, and the St. Charles Parkway which bypasses the congested commercial zone, acting as a primarily residential thoroughfare, going mostly parallel to Route 301 running south-west from Route 5, eventually turning north to t-bone into route 301.

Transit and proposed rail line Public transportation is provided by Van-Go, a bus system administered by Charles County for most of the county, including Waldorf, and interconnecting to nearby St.Mary's County Transit System buses. MTA Maryland has four commuter routes (901, 903, 905, and 907, all operated by Dillons Transportation except the 903 which is serviced by Keller Transportation) that take commuters to and from downtown Washington, D.C., and ridership is rapidly growing. Waldorf has seven park & ride lots served by MTA Maryland routes: two at St. Charles Towne Center, one at St. Charles Towne Plaza, one at Smallwood Drive and US 301, a very large one on Mattawoman Beantown Road, one at Smallwood Village Center, and one at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Maryland Transit Administration is currently working with Prince George's County and Charles County in planning a transit line called Southern Maryland Rapid Transit, which would connect Waldorf to the Branch Avenue station of the Washington Metro.

Utilities The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is the local electric company.

Waldorf is part of the water supply and sanitary service areas managed by Charles County's Department of Public Works, which operates more than 950 miles of water and sewer lines.

CPV St. Charles Energy Center operates a natural gas power plant in Waldorf, generating electricity for over 700,000 regional customers. The regional energy grid was previously served by the Morgantown Generating Station, a coal-fired plant that closed in 2022.

Waldorf, Maryland, United States 
<b>Waldorf, Maryland, United States</b>
Image: MDGovpics

Waldorf has a population of over 67,752 people. Waldorf also forms one of the centres of the wider Charles County which has a population of over 166,617 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Waldorf see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns - Sister Cities Waldorf has links with:

🇲🇿 Maputo, Mozambique
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Waldorf is: 103.117,-38.633

Locations Near: Waldorf -76.8833,38.6333

🇺🇸 La Plata -76.967,38.533 d: 13.3  

🇺🇸 Upper Marlboro -76.75,38.8 d: 21.8  

🇺🇸 Alexandria -77.044,38.805 d: 23.6  

🇺🇸 Washington D.C. -77,38.9 d: 31.3  

🇺🇸 Arlington -77.092,38.861 d: 31.1  

🇺🇸 Prince Frederick -76.583,38.533 d: 28.3  

🇺🇸 Bowie -76.733,38.95 d: 37.5  

🇺🇸 Chesapeake Beach -76.533,38.683 d: 30.9  

🇺🇸 Woodbridge -77.25,38.633 d: 31.9  

🇺🇸 Silver Spring -77.021,39.002 d: 42.7  

Antipodal to: Waldorf 103.117,-38.633

🇦🇺 Bunbury 115.637,-33.327 d: 18745  

🇦🇺 Mandurah 115.721,-32.529 d: 18690.3  

🇦🇺 Rockingham 115.717,-32.267 d: 18673.9  

🇦🇺 City of Cockburn 115.833,-32.167 d: 18658.6  

🇦🇺 Vincent 115.834,-31.936 d: 18643.4  

🇦🇺 Perth 115.857,-31.953 d: 18642.8  

🇦🇺 Wanneroo 115.803,-31.747 d: 18633.2  

🇦🇺 Guildford 115.973,-31.9 d: 18630.5  

🇦🇺 Midland 116.01,-31.888 d: 18626.9  

🇦🇺 Albany 117.867,-35.017 d: 18643.8  

Bing Map

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