Broad Creek in Prince George's County was the first footprint of European settlement in the immediate counties around what would become the nation's capital,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The area is part of greater Fort Washington. The area was settled by Europeans in the 1660s and the town was created in 1706 when the colonial Maryland Legislature authorized surveying and laying out the towns of Queen Anne Town, Nottingham, Mill Town, Piscataway, Aire (also known as Broad Creek) and Upper Marlboro (then known as Marlborough Town). In 1747, the legislature tried to improve the quality and the method of marketing

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 ...

, then the major crop of the area, and established a formal system of tobacco inspection and quality control. The town was home to one of seven state tobacco warehouses built in Prince George's County. The site is located south of the U.S. Capitol building on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. Today, this "first footprint" of settlement in the capital area is a Prince George's County Historic District, with three 17th century homesites and an 18th-century Episcopal Church structure. The Broad Creek Historic District comprises along the Potomac River, and is remarkable for its environmental resources, as well as its 12,000-year-old Indian archeological discoveries. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 8, 2011.

Broad Creek and Henson Creek

The stream named Broad Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River (Mouth: ). Henson Creek is a tributary of Broad Creek (Mouth: ). The 5.7 mile long Henson Creek Trail is managed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

References

External links

*, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust website * Geography of Prince George's County, Maryland Unincorporated communities in Maryland 1706 establishments in Maryland Historic districts in Prince George's County, Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Populated places established in 1706 National Register of Historic Places in Prince George's County, Maryland {{PrinceGeorgesCountyMD-NRHP-stub