La Plata ( ) is a town in

Charles County Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. The ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Charles County.

History

According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapman, whose family owned of land in

. The Colonel traveled to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

with his son George, who had contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, in search of a cure. In his travels, the Colonel had apparently encountered the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, which flows through

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, thus naming a portion of his property "La Plata". In the 1870s, a section of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

had been constructed through the town of La Plata, leading to its 1888 incorporation. The La Plata courthouse had been built soon after the 1819 Port Tobacco courthouse caught fire in 1895 under suspicious circumstances. In 1904, the historic Christ Episcopal Church in Port Tobacco, which dates to 1683 and was reconstructed in 1884, was dismantled and its stones were then transported by oxen and cart to its current lot in La Plata. In 1940, the opening of the then Potomac River Bridge (later, the

Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge, is a , four-lane continuous truss bridge that spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Charles County, Maryland and Dahlgren ...

), which carries

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic states. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware, at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida, at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, ...

over 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 ...

, provided a link to

King George, Virginia King George is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of King George County, Virginia, United States. It is sometimes referred to as King George Courthouse, because it is the location of the King George County Courthouse. The popul ...

and brought long-distance east coast traffic through the town as an alternative to U.S. 1 and, later,

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

. The bridge was replaced and widened in 2021.

Tornadoes

Despite being well outside the climatologically favored area for significant

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

es, La Plata has been impacted by several throughout its history. The most recent tornado to strike the town was an EF1 on February 25th, 2017. 1926 On November 9, 1926, an unusual F4 tornado killed 17 people. 14 of them where from the La Plata Elementary School, which was totally destroyed. This is also the deadliest tornado in Maryland's history. 1994 On July 27, 1994, the town was struck by two nonfatal tornadoes, occurring just 11 minutes apart. The initial tornado was rated F2 on the Fujita scale, which is already uncommon for the region. 2002 ' On April 28, 2002, an extremely powerful and fast-moving F4 tornado cut a swath through southeastern Maryland, with areas around La Plata being damaged most severely. This tornado caused five deaths and at least $115 million in damages. Local officials credited federal- and state-assisted new construction efforts with helping them to remodel the downtown area following the tornado, as several new public buildings replaced some of those damaged there. A new La Plata Town Hall, for example, became Southern Maryland's first

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

-certified building, and an old building considered historic by local residents, which housed a

CVS Pharmacy #REDIRECT CVS Pharmacy {{R from other capitalisation Company now has a new name to go along with it's anti-tobacco changes. New name is CVS Health ...

store at the time of the tornado, was rebuilt in a new location after the storm. In the days after the tornado, help was provided by twenty-seven different jurisdictions, as well as the nearby Amish community in St. Mary's County.

Geography

La Plata is located at (38.534258, -76.973377). On February 24, 2020, The Mayor and Town's Council unanimously adopted the Purple Martin as the official Town bird. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, La Plata has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Transportation

The primary method of travel to and from La Plata is by road, and four state highways serve the town. The most significant of these is

, which follows Crain Highway through the town. From La Plata, US 301 heads south across the

into

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, eventually reaching

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. To the north, US 301 passes through Waldorf before intersecting Interstate 495 and

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

near Bowie. From there, US 301 joins I-495 and US 50 east past

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

and crosses the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge (informally called the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and, locally, the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the ...

to the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

Maryland Route 6 Maryland Route 6 (MD 6) (sometimes called Port Tobacco Road) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from a cul-de-sac, dead end at the Potomac River in Riverside, Charles County, Maryland, Riverside east to Ma ...

is the main east-west highway serving La Plata, following Port Tobacco Road and Charles Street through town. From La Plata, MD 6 heads west to

Port Tobacco Port Tobacco, officially Port Tobacco Village, is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 13 at the 2010 census, making Port Tobacco the smallest incorporated town in Maryland. Overview This was historically the te ...

and continues east to Charlotte Hall.

Maryland Route 225 Maryland Route 225 (MD 225) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Hawthorne Road, the state highway runs from MD 210 in Potomac Heights east to U.S. Route 301 (US 301) in La Plata. MD 225 connects La Plata, the county ...

follows Hawthorne Road westward from US 301 in La Plata, eventually reaching

Maryland Route 210 Maryland Route 210 (MD 210) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Indian Head Highway, the highway runs from Potomac Avenue in Indian Head, Maryland, Indian Head north to the District of Columbia boundary in Forest Height ...

near Indian Head. Finally,

Maryland Route 488 Maryland Route 488 (MD 488) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as La Plata Road, the state highway runs from MD 6 in La Plata east to MD 5 near Bryantown. MD 488 is a connector between La Plata and eastern Charles Cou ...

follows La Plata Road northeast from MD 6 to

Maryland Route 5 Maryland Route 5 (MD 5) is a long state highway that runs north–south in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs from Point Lookout, Maryland, Point Lookout in St. Mary's County, Maryland, St. Mary's County north to the Washington, ...

near Bryantown.

Demographics

The median income for a household in the town was $56,490, and the median income for a family was $66,288. Males had a median income of $42,492 versus $32,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $24,669. About 8.3% of families and 10.1% 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 12.0% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 8,753 people, 3,062 households, and 2,091 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 3,234 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 66.3%

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

, 26.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.7% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population. There were 3,062 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were

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

living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.7% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age in the town was 38.4 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

Attractions

La Plata is largely a residential community. Some residents work for the Charles County government, while others commute to Waldorf or the

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 ...

and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

areas for work, including to

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

and

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comm ...

. The town is experiencing a transformation into a thriving business and commercial center, thanks to the development of office buildings and the town's recent reconstruction. Mount Carmel Monastery (1790), a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

convent, is just outside La Plata, near the main campus of the

College of Southern Maryland The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is a public community college with campuses in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown, and Prince Frederick, Maryland. It serves students living in Southern Maryland's Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert cou ...

. La Plata has county offices, the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, the main campus of the

, a community theater (Port Tobacco Players), a large outdoor athletic complex, two nursing homes, and a host of stores, churches, and restaurants, in addition to a twice-weekly

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

. At the north edge of town are

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

and

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

department stores, three supermarkets, a

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

home-improvement store, and many other shops. Rosewick Road is connected with St. Charles Parkway to adjacent Waldorf, providing drivers an alternative to using

. Public schools in La Plata include

La Plata High School La Plata High School is part of the Charles County Public Schools and is located in La Plata, Maryland, United States. The current school was built in 1979. Before that, it was in the building (built in 1964) which now holds Milton M. Somers M ...

, Milton Somers Middle School, Walter Mitchell Elementary, and Mary Matula Elementary. The portion of town west of Route 301 is zoned for James Craik Elementary and Maurice J. McDonough High School. La Plata is within the

Charles County Public Schools The Charles County school system (CCPS) is a public school system run by the publicly-elected Charles County Board of Education and is funded by Charles County, Maryland through taxpayer money allocated by the Charles County Board of Commiss ...

school district. There is also the La Plata Train Station Museum.

Mayors

1963–1967 Lowell E. Hawthorne 1967–1973 Raymond T. Tighlman 1973–1983 Victor B. Bowling, Jr. 1983–2005 William F. Eckman 2005–2008 Eugene Ambrogio 2008–2017 Roy G. Hale 2017–present Jeannine E. James

Notable people

Adrian Posey Adrian Posey (October 14, 1857 – July 2, 1922) was an American politician, attorney, businessman and newspaper publisher from Charles County, Maryland. Early life Born at Mount Pleasant, the Posey family farm near Allens Fresh, Adrian Posey was ...

, La Plata benefactor *

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player *

Steve Farr Steven Michael Farr (born December 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched primarily as a closer in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 1994. Biography Farr graduated from DeMatha High School outside Wash ...

, former Major League Baseball player *

Ryan Hackett Ryan Orion Hackett (born July 30, 1982) is an American stock car racing driver. Racing career Hackett started racing go-karts as a child at Stateline Speedway in King George, Virginia and by age 15 had won his first track championship. In 1998 at ...

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver *

Shane Halter Shane David Halter (born November 8, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player. Early life Halter attended Hooks High School in Hooks, Texas and was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, track, and golf. Halter ...

, former Major League Baseball player * Larry Johnson,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

former football player * Joel and

Benji Madden Benjamin Levi Madden (né Combs; born March 11, 1979) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the rock band Good Charlottefor which he has received various awardsas well as pop rock collaboration the Madden Br ...

, founders of pop/punk band

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...

* Don Money, former Major League Baseball player *

Sydney E. Mudd I Sydney Emanuel Mudd I (February 12, 1858 – October 21, 1911) was a politician, elected as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates (1896) and as a Republican Party (United States), Republican to the United States House of Representative ...

and

Sydney Emanuel Mudd II Sydney Emanuel Mudd II (June 20, 1885 – October 11, 1924) was an American attorney and politician from Maryland's 5th congressional district, elected to several terms as a U.S. Representative in Congress, dying in office. He was a Republica ...

, noted politicians * Buzz Nutter, former NFL football player * Daryl Thompson, Major League Baseball player

References

External links

Town of La Plata official website
{{authority control Towns in Maryland Towns in Charles County, Maryland County seats in Maryland 1888 establishments in Maryland