Beltsville is 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 ...

(CDP) in northern

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

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 t ...

, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the

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 ...

of Vansville.

Geography

Beltsville is located at (39.037509, −76.917847), adjacent to the Montgomery County –

line. It is approximately northeast of the

border with

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, Beltsville has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.38%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Beltsville has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 15,690 people, 5,690 households, and 3,823 families residing in Beltsville. The population density was . There were 5,865 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of Beltsville was 48.20%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 31.96%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.26% Native American, 10.75% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 5.42% from other races, and 3.31% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 9.84% of the population. There were 5,690 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.27. In Beltsville the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. The median income for a household in Beltsville was $57,722, and the median income for a family was $66,087. Males had a median income of $40,914 with $35,645 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $24,679. About 5.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

History

Beltsville's history dates back to 1649, when the land was part of an land grant given to Richard Snowden I by Lord Baltimore of England. Snowden and his family were planters who established large

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

on which they built comfortable manor homes. Soon after, other settlers moved into the area, but they were farmers who could only afford a few acres of land and whose families lived in small cabins. The principal crop was

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, most of which was shipped to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Because of the fertile soil and desirable growing conditions, the crops prospered. Industry came to Beltsville in the early 18th century when

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

was discovered in the area. The Muirkirk Iron Furnace on US 1 was established by Andrew and Elias Elliott, who learned their iron-making skills in

Muirkirk Muirkirk ( gd, Eaglais an t-Slèibh) is a small village in East Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It is located on the north bank of the River Ayr, between Cumnock and Glenbuck on the A70. Conservation The Muirkirk & North Lowther Uplands Specia ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. They produced some of the best-quality

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with ...

in the country and supplied the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

with cannons, shot, wheels, and other iron products during the Revolutionary War and the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

. By 1730, Post Road (now part of US 1) was the main thoroughfare through Beltsville. Though crude, it made

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

travel possible. In 1783, Gabriel Peterson Van Horn established a stage line and built the Van Horn Tavern on Odell Road, where passengers could spend the night as they traveled between

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

and Washington. The trip took one and one-half days. Beltsville has a distinguished Revolutionary War hero as its native son. Brigadier General

Rezin Beall Brigadier General Rezin Beall (1723–1809) was appointed commander of Maryland's Flying Camp militia by the United States Congress. Career On 17 July 1776, Captain Beall was wounded in action on St. George Island, Maryland in a battle resistin ...

, who was born on Turkey Flight Plantation on Old Gunpowder Road in 1723, prevented a British invasion at

Drum Point Drum Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern Calvert County, Maryland, United States, at the confluence of the Patuxent River with Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located ...

on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

with only 100 men. He is credited with the fact that there are no Revolutionary War battlefields in Maryland. In 1835 one of the first rail lines in the country, the Washington branch of the

B&O Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(Baltimore & Ohio), was built through Prince George's County. Coming from Baltimore, the line entered the county at Laurel and ran southwesterly to Bladensburg, then into Washington. B&O established a rail stop and freight depot on land purchased from a tobacco farmer named Trueman Belt, and they named the place after him. The new community of Beltsville was doubly blessed, for the Baltimore-Washington Turnpike crossed the rail line there. It soon became a thriving little trading center, eclipsing the older community of Vansville further north on the pike. The original area developed haphazardly and consisted of a few residences, two churches, several small stores, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, and a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkwr ...

. In 1891, the Beltsville Land Improvement Company was chartered and over the next thirty years developed the South Beltsville subdivision as a grid of streets. The developers sold the lots to individual owners and placed

restrictive covenant A covenant, in its most general sense and historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the presence of a s ...

s on the deeds, including forbidding the manufacture or sale of alcohol and the sale of any property to an

. Beltsville was marketed to professionals who wanted to escape the congestion of Washington and was developed with a mixture of Victorian-style houses and

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

houses. The community grew further when an electric railway was extended to Beltsville. The railway began as the

Berwyn and Laurel Electric Railroad Berwyn originally referred to the Berwyn range of mountains in northeast Wales: Berwyn may also refer to: Places United States *Berwyn, Illinois, a city * Berwyn, Nebraska, a village *Berwyn, Oklahoma, the former name of Gene Autry, Oklahoma *Ber ...

, but after suffering from financial difficulties it was acquired by the City and Suburban Railway. Located to the west of the railroad, along the line of present-day Rhode Island Avenue, the

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

line served as the nucleus for additional subdivisions. These areas continued to develop slowly throughout the 1930s and 1940s with the construction of modest side-gable residences. Development continued after the introduction of the automobile, but it was not until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

that intensive development came to the Beltsville area. As the federal government grew, in 1910 the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

(USDA) began to purchase land in Beltsville for its

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

, the main in-house research arm of the USDA. The land now houses the

Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), also known as the National Agricultural Research Center, is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It is located in unincorporate ...

(BARC). The first parcel acquired was of the Walnut Grange Plantation with its historic "Butterfly House". The Center eventually encompassed and became the largest and most prominent center of

agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

research in the world. There are a number of historic homes and buildings still standing in Beltsville. The oldest home was built in 1773. One of the largest of the older buildings, built in 1880, was the three-story Ammendale Normal Institute, which was destroyed by fire in 1998. In 2003 Kevin Kennedy started a group which aimed to have Beltsville incorporate into its own municipality. By 2004 the 12-member group, named Committee to Incorporate Beltsville, advocated for getting the issue on the ballot. By late 2004 the group began efforts to collect 3,000 signatures on a petition so the issue can be put up for election; this would represent about one quarter of the persons in Beltsville who were registered to vote. By the deadline in March 2005 they failed to get sufficient signatures as they only had 2,000.

Historic sites

The following is a list of historic sites in Beltsville and identified by the

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. History The commission was formed in 1927 by the Maryland G ...

: African-American Heritage Sites at nearby Rossville are listed at Muirkirk, Maryland.

Government

Beltsville 3, State Magazine 1998-05- Iss 414 (IA sim state-magazine 1998-05 414) (page 21 crop)

Prince George's County Police Department District 6 Station in Beltsville CDP serves the community.2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Beltsville CDP, MD
"

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

. Retrieved on January 31, 2018. Pages
123
/ref> The U.S. Postal Service operates the Beltsville Post Office. The

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

operates the

Beltsville Information Management Center The Beltsville Information Management Center (BIMC), formerly named the Beltsville Messaging Center (BMC) and the Beltsville Communications Center (also known as the Beltsville Communications Annex), is a United States Department of State facility ...

. The

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

James J. Rowley Training Center The James J. Rowley Training Center (JJRTC, RTC, or Secret Service Training Academy) is the law enforcement training center operated by the United States Secret Service just outside Washington, D.C. in Laurel, Maryland. It is named after former ...

is nicknamed “Beltsville” but is actually located in adjacent Laurel. Some of the most important research and bureaucratic facilities of the

United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(USDA ARS) are located here.

Education

Schools

Beltsville's public schools are a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system. Public elementary schools include: * Beltsville Academy ( K-8, formerly Beltsville Elementary School) on Wicomico Avenue * Calverton Elementary School on Beltsville Road in Calverton CDP * Vansville Elementary School (adjacent to the Beltsville CDP) on Ammendale Road Public middle schools include: * Beltsville Academy on Wicomico Avenue * Martin Luther King Middle School on Ammendale Road Public high schools include: * High Point High School on Powder Mill Road There are three

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...

s in Beltsville: Augsburg Academy (Lutheran), St Joseph's School (Roman Catholic of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...

), and Beltsville Seventh-day Adventist (SDA). During the era of legally-required racial segregation of schools, black students from Beltsville attended Lakeland High School in College Park in the period 1928-1950;
African-American Historic and Cultural Resources in Prince George’s County, Maryland
'.

, February 2012. p. 63 (document page 67). Retrieved on September 6, 2018.

Fairmont Heights High School Fairmont Heights High School (est.1950) is an American public comprehensive secondary school located in Landover, Maryland,Fairmount Heights, replaced Lakeland High and served black students only from 1950 to 1964; around 1964 legally-required racial segregation of schools ended.

Libraries

Prince George's County Memorial Library System The Prince George's County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) is the public library system of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, in the Washington metropolitan area. Its headquarters are in the Largo-Kettering Branch in Largo. Br ...

operates the Beltsville Branch.

Notable businesses

Ritz Camera Centers Ritz Camera & Image (formerly Ritz Camera Centers) is a photographic retail and photofinishing specialty store, headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. The company owns and used to operate a chain throughout the United States under the names Wolf Came ...

was headquartered in Beltsville. The chain included Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kit's Camera, Inkley's, Cameras West, and The Camera Shop. The company also owned Boater's World Marine Centers, which was headquartered in the same building. The company was acquired in 2012 and the Beltsville headquarters was closed.It's The End of the road for Ritz and Wolf Camera Stores
/ref> *

Beltsville Speedway The Beltsville Speedway, formerly the Baltimore-Washington Speedway was an asphalt oval track in Prince George's County, Maryland; it spanned . Near Beltsville, it was on land now occupied by Capitol Technology University, in the South Laurel ...

, defunct

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

track *

Sinful Colors Sinful Colors is an American nail polish company owned by Revlon. Background Sinful Colors was founded in 1991. All the products are made in USA and without formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP. In March 2011, Mirage Cosmetics, the owners of Sinful ...

is headquartered in Beltsville

Notable people

Johnny Beall John Woolf Beall (March 12, 1882 – June 14, 1926) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Naps, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Career Beall was born in Beltsville, Mary ...

, MLB player *

Matthew Centrowitz Jr. Matthew Centrowitz Jr. (born October 18, 1989) is an American middle-distance runner who is the 2016 Olympic champion in the 1500 meters. He became a prominent figure in U.S. running when he won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships i ...

, Olympic runner * Frank Cho, comic book writer and illustrator * Goatman, cryptid * Lyle Goodhue, scientist and inventor *

Cameron Wake Derek Cameron Wake (born January 30, 1982) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker. He played college football for Penn State University, and was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Wake ...

, NFL player

In popular culture

Experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...

band

Thrice Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school. Early in their career, the band was known ...

recorded the album ''The Illusion of Safety'' here and dedicated a song to the town, named "The Beltsville Crucible".

References

External links

Beltsville website
(including links to ''The Beltsville News'')

The History of Beltsville
{{authority control Populated places established in 1649

Beltsville Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...

Census-designated places in Maryland Washington metropolitan area 1649 establishments in Maryland