Indian Head, Maryland
| Indian Head, Maryland | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 38°35′52″N 77°9′25″W / 38.59778°N 77.15694°WCoordinates: 38°35′52″N 77°9′25″W / 38.59778°N 77.15694°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland |
| County | Charles |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Land | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 105 ft (32 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 3,422 |
| • Density | 2,792.7/sq mi (1,078.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 20640 |
| Area code | 301 |
| FIPS code | 24-41500 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0590532 |
Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890.[1] Production of nitrocellulose and smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900.[2] The name of the base has varied over the years from Indian Head Proving Ground, to Naval Powder Factory, to Naval Propellant Plant, to Naval Ordnance Station, to the present Naval Support Facility Indian Head. The facility's main tenant activity is the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC/IH). Advanced research in energetic systems takes place at NSWC/IH. NSWC/IH absorbed the function of the closed Naval Ordnance Laboratory, formerly in White Oak. The base currently employs 3,700.
Contents |
[edit] History
The peninsula, a "head" of land, had been long occupied by various cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic Algonquian-speaking American Indian tribe was the Mattawoman (likely a band of the Piscataway) encountered by the first English settlers; the latter called the land, "Indian Head", meaning "Indian Peninsula." (One source cites that its name came from a legend related by the Algonquian-speaking tribes.[citation needed] Another story claims that the town was named Indian Head because it resembles an Indian's head from the air.)[citation needed]
Union Brigadier General Joseph Hooker commanded the Third Brigade near Budd's Ferry in August 1861. The site was a gathering spot for volunteers, including the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Samuel H. Starr. The site was also used by the Union Army Balloon Corps for reconnaissance of Confederate troop movements across the Potomac.,[3][4]
The city of Indian Head was incorporated in 1920. It is located between the Potomac River and Mattawoman Creek on Cornwallis Neck, named for the 1654 grant of 5,000 acres (20 km2) by the second Lord Baltimore, Cecilius Calvert, to Capt. Thomas Cornwallis of St. Mary's County. This land grant included the 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) Cornwallis Manor on the Potomac, presumably the Indian Head site, with St. Elizabeth's Manor of 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) "nearby but detached".[5] In 1850, the Washington Fruit Growers Association named the area including Indian Head as Glymont. At that time, with Pye's Wharf and Leonard Marbury's Wharf, it was the largest river port in Charles County. The name Indian Head applies to the land west of the current Glymont, and dates to the establishment of the Powder Factory.[6]
Indian Head was a thriving small town during the World War II years and up until the late 1960s. The construction of St. Charles, a giant planned community south of nearby Waldorf, brought with it retail chains and big-box stores. These attracted Indian Head's shopping dollars and started the demise of local businesses.
Today, Indian Head is rich in history but is lacking many basic retail and service businesses.[7] Many remedies for this situation have been attempted, but the desired growth has been slow in coming. Indian Head is bisected by Maryland Route 210, generally known as Indian Head Highway. It goes directly into the middle of town at the entrance to Indian Head Naval Support Facility. Because of this, the town cannot benefit from through-traffic, but must be a destination in its own right.
Private plans to build a massive "Chapman's Landing" housing development a few miles to the north, were thwarted in the 1990s when the state government purchased the land to preserve as green space under its "smart growth" program. The preserved land includes an old growth Shell-Marl Ravine Forest ecosystem.
The town recently opened a "black box" stage theater, the Indian Head Center for the Arts, a new community center building, new ball fields, and is exploring other efforts to revitalize the town. A section of the railroad to the Naval facility, built in 1918, was converted to a paved hiking/biking trail in 2008.[8] A year-round swimming pool is at the nearby Henry E. Lackey High School.
[edit] Hunters Brooke Arson
On December 4, 2004 an arson took place in the development of Hunters Brooke which is located a few miles southeast of Indian Head. It later became the largest residential arson[9] in the history of the state of Maryland.[10][11][12]
[edit] Geography
Indian Head is located at 38°35′52″N 77°9′25″W / 38.59778°N 77.15694°W (38.597781, -77.156926)[13].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), all of it land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 3,422 people, 1,222 households, and 888 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,792.7 people per square mile (1,074.2/km²). There were 1,311 housing units at an average density of 1,069.9 per square mile (411.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 55.64% White, 38.08% African American, 1.78% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.
There were 1,222 households out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the town the age distribution of the population shows 33.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $42,702, and the median income for a family was $48,375. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $31,451 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,778. About 9.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] References
- ^ "Indian Head Proving Ground; Where Uncle Sam Tests His Big Guns and Armor Plate". The New York Times. April 15, 1894. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9406E4DC1630E033A25756C1A9629C94659ED7CF. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Worden, Edward C., Nitrocellulose industry: a compendium of the history, chemistry, manufacture, D. Van Nostrand Co., 1911.
- ^ Foster, John Y. New Jersey and the Rebellion (1868), pg 130
- ^ Budd's Ferry Marker
- ^ Wilstach, Paul, Potomac Landings, Doubleday, Garden City, New Jersey, p.69 (1920).
- ^ "Long past days as swanky resort, Glymont survives" S. Poynor, Maryland Independent, 9 September 2009
- ^ N.B. McConaty, "Business attraction is main issue in Indian Head election", Maryland Independent, 15 April 2009
- ^ N.B. McConaty, "Rails to trails project chugs ahead", Maryland Independent, 23 July 2008
- ^ United States Attorney for the District of Maryland (2006-03-01). "Violent Crime Program 2005 Annual Report". United States Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/usao/md/Exile/files/Annual%20Report%202005%20Violent%20Crime%20Program.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
- ^ Courson, Paul; Joanthan Wild (2004-12-21). "Two more arrested in Maryland fires". Washington, Dc: CNN. p. 1. http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/21/maryland.fires/index.html. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Witte, Brian (January 3, 2005). "Maryland Hunts for Motives Behind State's Largest Residential Arson". Insurance Journal. http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/east/2005/01/03/features/50855.htm. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ Hancock, David (Dec. 18, 2004). "3 More Charged In Maryland Arson". LA PLATA, Md: CBS NEWS. p. 1. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/06/national/main659400.shtml. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- Warren, Kathy (Winter 2002). Indian Head – Land of Legend and Military Might. 4. Southern Maryland This is Living. http://somdthisisliving.somd.com/vol4num4/indianhead.html. Retrieved 2008-01-20
[edit] External links
- Indian Head Rail Trail at Everytrail.com
- Naval Support Activity, South Potomac
- Town of Indian Head
- Cullinan, Kathleen (April 29, 2005). "Town of Indian Head Plans Future With or Without Nearby Base". Maryland Newsline. http://www.newsline.umd.edu/justice/specialreports/bases/indianhead042905.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- Ginsberg, Steven (December 31, 1998). "Indian Head Will Lose Its Only Grocery Store". The Washington Post. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-695947.html. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
|
|||||||||||||||||
