Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland located immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it has a population of 828,770 and is the wealthiest county in the nation with an African-American majority.

The county was named for Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708), the brother of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway, and husband of Queen Anne of Great Britain. It is frequently referred to as 'P.G. County,' however this abbreviation is viewed as pejorative by some residents.

The county is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Colonial history
Prince George's County was created by the Council of Maryland 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.

Revolution to Civil War
In 1791, portions of Prince George's County were ceded to form the new District of Columbia, along with portions of Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as parts of Virginia that were later returned to Virginia.

Post WWII
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, Maryland|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.

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

The Patuxent River forms the county's eastern border with Howard, Anne Arundel, and Calvert Counties.

Adjacent jurisdictions

 * Anne Arundel County (east)
 * Calvert County (southeast)
 * Charles County (south)
 * Howard County (north)
 * Montgomery County (northwest)
 * Fairfax County, Virginia (southwest)
 * Alexandria, Virginia (southwest)
 * Washington, DC (west)

Government
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 has become a stronghold for Democrats running in the state.

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

Other officials

 * State's Attorney: Glenn F. Ivey
 * County Sheriff: Michael A. Jackson
 * Chief of the County Police: Melvin High
 * Superintendent of schools: John Deasy

State and national representation
The county is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Steny Hoyer (Maryland's 5th congressional district) who was elected House Majority Leader in 2007, Albert Wynn (Maryland's 4th congressional district), and Chris Van Hollen (Maryland's 8th congressional district).

At the state level, the county is represented in the Maryland Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates by Districts 21, 22, 23 (A and B), 24, 25, 26, 27A, and 47 (23 delegates and 8 senators total).

Demographics
As of the estimated census]{GR|2}} of 2005, there were 846,123 people, 286,610 households, and 198,047 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,651/sq mi (638/km²). There were 308,929 housing units at an average density of 1,651.1/sq mi (241/km²).

The racial makeup of the county was:
 * 62.70% African American
 * 27.04% White
 * 7.12% Hispanic or Latino
 * 3.87% Asian
 * 3.38% Other races
 * 2.61% Two or More of any race
 * 0.35% Native American
 * 0.06% Pacific Islander

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.

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.

Crime and law enforcement
Prince George's County is serviced by multiple law enforcement agencies. The Prince George's County Police Department is the primary police service for county residents. In addition, the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office acts as the enforcement arm of the county court, and also shares some responsibility with the county police. County parks are serviced by the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. Besides the county-level services, many local municipalities maintain police departments that share jurisdiction with the county police services. Furthermore, the Maryland State Police enforces the law on state highways which pass through the county.

As of 2006, the county reportedly contains the highest crime rate for the Washington Metro area, comparable to Baltimore.

Emergency medical and fire services
Prince George's County hospitals include "Bowie Health Center", "Doctors Community Hospital" in Lanham, "Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital & Nursing Center" in Cheverly, "Hospice of the Chesapeake" in Landover, "Laurel Regional Hospital", "Prince George's Hospital Medical Center" in Cheverly, "Southern Maryland Hospital Center" in Clinton, and "Washington Adventist Hospital" in Takoma Park. "Fort Washington Medical Center" also provides a small medical facility for its community.

The Prince George's County Volunteer Firemen's Association was formed in 1922 with several of the first companies organized in the county. The first members of the association were Hyattsville, Cottage City, Mount Rainier, and Brentwood.

In March 1966, the Prince George's County Government employed the firefighters who had been hired by individual volunteer stations and an organized career department was begun. The career firefighters and paramedics are represented by IAFF 1619.

Prince George's County became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to implement the 9-1-1 Emergency Reporting System in 1973. Advanced life support services began for citizens of the county in 1977. Firefighters were certified as Cardiac Rescue Technicians and deployed in what was called at the time Mobile Intensive Care Units to fire stations in Brentwood, Silver Hill, and Laurel.

As of 2007 the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department operates a combination system staffed by over 800 career firefighters and paramedics, and nearly 1,000 active volunteers.

Colleges and universities

 * Bowie State University, located in unincorporated area north of Bowie
 * Capitol College, located in unincorporated area south of Laurel
 * Prince George's Community College, located in unincorporated area (Largo)
 * Strayer University, PG Campus, in unincorporated area (Suitland)
 * TESST College of Technology, located in unincorporated area (Beltsville)
 * University of Maryland, College Park, in College Park
 * University of Maryland University College, in unincorporated area (Adelphi)
 * Washington Bible College and Capital Bible Seminary, in unincorporated area (Lanham)

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

Transportation
The County contains a large portion of the Capital Beltway. After a decades-long debate, construction began in late 2007 on an east-west toll freeway, the Intercounty Connector ("ICC"), which will extend Interstate 370 in Montgomery County in order to connect I-270 with Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 in Laurel. The ICC is expected to be complete in 2012.

Four terminus stations of the Washington Metro subway system are located in Prince George's County: Greenbelt, New Carrollton, Largo, and Branch Avenue. There has been much debate on the construction of the Purple Line, which would link highly-developed areas of both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Also worth noting is the potential expansion of the Green Line northward to Laurel and beyond.

The MARC Train (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) train service has two lines that traverse Prince George's County. The Camden Line runs between Baltimore Camden Station and Washington Union Station and has six stops in the county in Riverdale Park, College Park, Greenbelt, Muirkirk, Laurel and Laurel Racetrack. The Penn Line runs on the AMTRAK route between Baltimore Penn Station and Washington Union Station. It has three stops in the county: Bowie, Seabrook, and New Carrollton.

The College Park Airport (est. 1909) is the world's oldest continuously operated airport, and has adjacent historical museum and an early aviation-themed restaurant.

Significant Enterprises
Prince George's County is home to the United States Department of Agriculture's Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the United States Census Bureau, Andrews Air Force Base, the National Archives and Records Administration's College Park facility, the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, Six Flags America and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, FedEx Field (home of the Washington Redskins), and the soon-to-be-completed National Harbor, which its developers, Peterson Companies and Gaylord Entertainment Company, bills the largest single mixed-use project and combined convention center–hotel complex on the East Coast.

Media

 * WPGC (AM & FM, Morningside, MD), takes its P-G-C call letters from the name Prince George's County.

Cities and towns
This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

The city of Takoma Park was formerly partly in Prince George's County, but since 1997 has been entirely in Montgomery County. The part of Takoma Park that changed counties is in a single residential neighborhood, Carole Highlands; part of this neighborhood is still in Prince George's County.

Unincorporated places
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:

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

And two localities: Muirkirk (near Montpelier) and Chapel Oaks (near Fairmount Heights)

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


 * Royal Bafokeng Nation, South Africa
 * Rishon LeZion, Israel
 * Ziguinchor, Senegal