Scaggsville

History

The town is named for the Scaggs family, who settled of farmland in the 1830s and continue to live in the region. The area also used the name "Hells Corner" as a postal address in Civil War times. The historic path running through town was shown on maps as far back as 1795. This path is now named Lime Kiln Road, Scaggsville Road, and Whiskey Bottom Road. In the 19th century, Scaggsville was a stagecoach stop on the trip from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. Stagecoaches would ford the Patuxent River until a wooden bridge was built in 1859, which washed out in an 1868 flood. Three additional bridges washed out by 1883 before a steel truss bridge was built. In 1941, the Maryland Gazette reported that the town consisted of 15 households. Today, it has grown to a suburban community made up of several neighborhoods.

Geography

Scaggsville is located in southern Howard County, bordered by Fulton to the west, Columbia to the north, North Laurel to the southeast, West Laurel in Prince George's County to the south, and Burtonsville in Montgomery County to the southwest. The Patuxent River forms the southern edge of the Scaggsville CDP, as well as the Howard County line. U.S. Route 29 follows the western edge of the CDP, leading north to Columbia and south to downtown Washington, D.C. Interstate 95 forms the eastern edge of the CDP, leading northeast to downtown Baltimore and southwest to Washington's Beltway. Maryland Route 216 runs east–west through the center of Scaggsville, connecting US 29 and I-95, and leads southeast to Laurel.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  113,321
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  92,587
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  84,843
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  83,059
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  77,326
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  74,472
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  73,180
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  72,102

Largest nearby schools

• Reservoir High
  High · Fulton · 1,837 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Howard High
  High · Ellicott City · 1,741 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Long Reach High
  High · Columbia · 1,714 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Atholton High
  High · Columbia · 1,467 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• River Hill High
  High · Clarksville · 1,424 students · 17:1 ratio
• Oakland Mills High
  High · Columbia · 1,401 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Centennial High
  High · Ellicott City · 1,392 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• Wilde Lake High
  High · Columbia · 1,341 students · 13.7:1 ratio