La Plata, Maryland, United States

History | Geography | Transport | Demographics | Attractions

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Charles County.

History According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapman, whose family owned 6,000 acres (24ย kmยฒ) of land in Charles County. The Colonel traveled to South America with his son George, who had contracted tuberculosis, in search of a cure. In his travels, the Colonel had apparently encountered the Rรญo de la Plata, which flows through Argentina and Uruguay, thus naming a portion of his property "La Plata".

In the 1870s, a section of the Pennsylvania Railroad had been constructed through the town of La Plata, leading to its 1888 incorporation.

The La Plata courthouse had been built soon after the 1819 Port Tobacco courthouse caught fire in 1895 under suspicious circumstances. In 1904, the historic Christ Episcopal Church in Port Tobacco, which dates to 1683 and was reconstructed in 1884, was dismantled and its stones were then transported by oxen and cart to its current lot in La Plata.

In 1940, the opening of the then Potomac River Bridge (later, the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge), which carries U.S. Route 301 over the Potomac River, provided a link to King George, Virginia and brought long-distance east coast traffic through the town as an alternative to U.S. 1 and, later, Interstate 95.

Geography On February 24, 2020, The Mayor and Town's Council unanimously adopted the Purple Martin as the official Town bird.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.45 square miles (19.30ย kmยฒ), of which 7.40 square miles (19.17ย kmยฒ) is land and 0.05 square miles (0.13ย kmยฒ) is water.

Transport The primary method of travel to and from La Plata is by road, and four state highways serve the town. The most significant of these is U.S. Route 301, which follows Crain Highway through the town. From La Plata, US 301 heads south across the Potomac River into Virginia, eventually reaching Richmond. To the north, US 301 passes through Waldorf before intersecting Interstate 495 and U.S. Route 50 near Bowie. From there, US 301 joins I-495 and US 50 east past Annapolis and crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Maryland Route 6 is the main east-west highway serving La Plata, following Port Tobacco Road and Charles Street through town. From La Plata, MD 6 heads west to Port Tobacco and continues east to Charlotte Hall. Maryland Route 225 follows Hawthorne Road westward from US 301 in La Plata, eventually reaching Maryland Route 210 near Indian Head. Finally, Maryland Route 488 follows La Plata Road north-east from MD 6 to Maryland Route 5 near Bryantown.

Demographics The median income for a household in the town was $56,490, and the median income for a family was $66,288. Males had a median income of $42,492 versus $32,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,669. About 8.3% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,753 people, 3,062 households, and 2,091 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,182.8 inhabitants per square mile (456.7/kmยฒ). There were 3,234 housing units at an average density of 437.0 per square mile (168.7/kmยฒ). The racial makeup of the town was 66.3% White, 26.7% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

There were 3,062 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.7% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.17.

The median age in the town was 38.4 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

Attractions La Plata is largely a residential community. Some residents work for the Charles County government, while others commute to Waldorf or the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas for work, including to Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The town is experiencing a transformation into a thriving business and commercial centre, thanks to the development of office buildings and the town's recent reconstruction.

Mount Carmel Monastery (1790), a Catholic convent, is just outside La Plata, near the main campus of the College of Southern Maryland.

La Plata has county offices, the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, the main campus of the College of Southern Maryland, a community theater (Port Tobacco Players), a large outdoor athletic complex, two nursing homes, and a host of stores, churches, and restaurants, in addition to a twice-weekly farmers' market. At the north edge of town are Walmart and Target department stores, three supermarkets, a Lowe's home-improvement store, and many other shops. Rosewick Road is connected with St. Charles Parkway to adjacent Waldorf, providing drivers an alternative to using U.S. Route 301.

Public schools in La Plata include La Plata High School, Milton Somers Middle School, Walter Mitchell Elementary, and Mary Matula Elementary. The portion of town west of Route 301 is zoned for James Craik Elementary and Maurice J. McDonough High School.

There is also La Plata Train Station Museum.

America/New_York/Maryland 
<b>America/New_York/Maryland</b>
Image: Adobe Stock Felix Mizioznikov #276338213

La Plata has a population of over 10,159 people. La Plata also forms the centre of the wider Charles County which has a population of over 166,617 people.

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

Twin Towns - Sister Cities La Plata has links with:

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Maputo, Mozambique
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to La Plata is: 103.033,-38.533

Locations Near: La Plata -76.9667,38.5333

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Waldorf -76.883,38.633 d: 13.3  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Alexandria -77.044,38.805 d: 30.9  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Woodbridge -77.25,38.633 d: 27  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Upper Marlboro -76.75,38.8 d: 35.1  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Arlington -77.092,38.861 d: 38.1  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Washington D.C. -77,38.9 d: 40.9  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Prince Frederick -76.583,38.533 d: 33.3  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Fairfax County -77.28,38.83 d: 42.8  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Chesapeake Beach -76.533,38.683 d: 41.2  

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Fairfax -77.3,38.85 d: 45.6  

Antipodal to: La Plata 103.033,-38.533

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Bunbury 115.637,-33.327 d: 18742.8  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Mandurah 115.721,-32.529 d: 18688.8  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Rockingham 115.717,-32.267 d: 18672.7  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ City of Cockburn 115.833,-32.167 d: 18657.4  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Vincent 115.834,-31.936 d: 18642.4  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Perth 115.857,-31.953 d: 18641.7  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Wanneroo 115.803,-31.747 d: 18632.4  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Guildford 115.973,-31.9 d: 18629.4  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Midland 116.01,-31.888 d: 18625.8  

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Albany 117.867,-35.017 d: 18639.1  

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