Pomonkey is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in

Charles County Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Wash ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States at the crossing of Livingston and Pomfret Roads, one mile (1.6 km) from Bryans Road. Page 19.

History

Pomonkey is named for the Pamunkey tribe of Native Americans that lived in the area. The Brent family owned much of the land from before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, asserting their claims after Giles Brent married princess Mary Kittamaquund in the 17th century. Robert Brent (1764-1819) became the first mayor of Washington, D.C. (and freed his slaves in his will). In the early 19th century, the village of Bumpy Oak was renamed Pomonkey when it was designated a postal stop. Another Robert Brent (1759-1810) and Dorothy Leigh Brent built a plantation house in this area, which they called Brentfield (which later burned down). Their children included Maryland judge George Brent (1817-1881) and Louisiana's U.S. Representative

William Leigh Brent William Leigh Brent— (February 20, 1784July 7, 1848) was a lawyer and plantation owner in Maryland and Louisiana, and three-term U.S. Representative representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. Early and family life Brent was born at ...

(1784-1848), one of whose sons became Maryland Attorney General Robert James Brent and another Confederate General Joseph Lancaster Brent. The former Pomonkey High School was one of two black segregated high schools in Charles County until the 1960s, and has a proud alumni association. From 1946 to 1970 the "Pomonkey Spoon Factory" manufactured wooden tools and small items. For several years, Maryland Airport has planned a expansion, including an energetics (explosives) technical center and business park employing over 3,000 people. However, environmental concerns related to stormwater discharge into

Mattawoman Creek Mattawoman Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 coastal-plain tributary to the tidal Potomac River with a mouth at Indian Head, Maryland, downstr ...

delayed those plans. The

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

has its Free Space Antenna Range on Bumpy Oak Road. (Historical society article: https://www.charlescountymd.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/4319/637231408687400000 )

Demographics

Pomonkey itself is an unincorporated area and not part of a

Census Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

, so few statistics for Pomonkey are available. Bryans Road, Maryland is the nearest community to Pomonkey for which data are available. However, the area lies at the meeting of ZIP codes 20616 (Bryans Road), 20640 (Indian Head) and 20646 ( La Plata). As of 2000, Election District 7 (named for Pomonkey, but which includes Bryans Road and Indian Head) had a population of 11,859 persons. The racial breakdown was: 59.0% white, 35.8% black, 1.5% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Asian Indian, 0.2% Chinese, 0.6% Filipino, <0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Korean, <0.1% Vietnamese, 0.1% Other Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.5% Other race, 1.8% two or more races.

Local landmarks

*J.C. Parks Elementary School * Maryland Airport *Matthew Henson Middle School *Saint Johns Cemetery *Saint Johns ChapelPomonkey, Maryland, United States
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References

External links

– Describes former NRL installation
Pomonkey Launch and Control (MD-217/218, W-54)
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* * {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Maryland Unincorporated communities in Charles County, Maryland