Upper Marlboro

History

The area of Upper Marlboro was first settled around 1695. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill. The land, which was to become the town, was part of several estates known as Grove Landing, Meadows, and Darnall's Chance, owned by the Brooke, Beall, and Darnall families, respectively. Darnall's Chance, also known as the Buck House, Buck-Wardrop House, or James Wardrop House, is a historic home located at 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, in Upper Marlboro. It is named after Colonel Henry Darnall, a wealthy Roman Catholic planter, who was the Proprietary Agent of Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore and who served for a time as Deputy Governor of the Province. The house itself was built c. 1742 by a merchant named James Wardrop, after he bought some of the land from Eleanor Darnall Carroll and her husband. Today, Darnall's Chance houses the Darnall's Chance House Museum, an historic house museum that opened to the public in 1988. In 1706, Marlborough Town was established as a port town by the Act for the Advancement of Trade and Erecting Ports and Towns. It was declared that the town would be constructed, "at the upper landing on the Western Branch, commonly called Colonel Belt's landing." County surveyor Thomas Truman Greenfield conducted a survey of of the three estates from which the town would be formed. Streets, alleys, a meetinghouse, lots for small businesses, and 100 lots to be used for homes were laid out. The earliest plans showed the town being laid out in a grid pattern with an L shape. In 1718 residents asked the county government's general assembly, then based in Charles Town, via petition to move the county seat to Upper Marlboro. The county seat has been there since that time. Residents of the area…

Geography

Upper Marlboro is located at (38.816488, −76.753454). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Upper Marlboro is the county seat of Prince George's County, a large urban and suburban area of some 850,000 people adjacent to Washington. U.S. Route 301 and Maryland Route 4 intersect at the edge of town. The northern terminus of the [http://www.mdcrimevictims.org/stephanie-roper-highway/ Stephanie Roper Highway] (Maryland Route 4) is in Upper Marlboro at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Water Street. Major features of the town include the courthouse, jail, county office building, board of education, and a lake with a walking path. Just to the south of town is the Prince George's Equestrian Center which is the location of the annual county fair, a major annual antiques show and The Show Place Arena on the former Marlboro racetrack grounds. This arena is used for events such as hockey games, circuses, rodeos, conventions, trade shows, and graduation ceremonies of many regional high schools, as well as daily overflow parking for county governmental employees, jurors, and visitors. Although the surrounding area has many rural, pastoral features, including horse farms, housing developments are increasingly prevalent. The Town of Upper Marlboro is quite small and often confused with the large surrounding unincorporated area known as Greater Upper Marlboro. Greater Upper Marlboro has a population of nearly 20,000 in an area of , as designated by the post office. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Upper Marlboro has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate…

Race & ethnicity