Seabrook is an
unincorporated community and
census-designated place (CDP) in
Prince George's County,
Maryland, United States, located approximately east of
Washington, D.C.. Per the
2020 census, the population was 19,627. Prior to 2010, Seabrook was part of the
Lanham-Seabrook census-designated place.
Etymology
Seabrook takes its name from
Thomas Seabrook Thomas W. Seabrook (c. 1817 – February 24, 1897) was a 19th-century American civil engineer who was most known for his work on the construction and extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal na ...
, who was a
topographical engineer
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
with the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name 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. It was named ...
. He originally built three cottages and a park with fenced-in tame deer in the area near the rail station in the early 1870s.
History
A school was built in Seabrook in 1895.
The community developed in direct relationship with the Washington Branch of the
Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. The railroad's main branch into Washington opened in July 1872, with stations established at
Glenn Dale, Seabrook, and
Lanham, among others. Thomas Seabrook, an engineer for the railroad, purchased of land in 1871 around the location of a planned station for the purpose of creating a retreat community. By 1880, a station building and three
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
cottages had been built, followed by commercial buildings and a schoolhouse. By 1914, the community remained small with just a few buildings located at the intersection of Seabrook Road with the railroad. By 1957, the community had grown to include approximately 185 houses along 10 streets. The streets were arranged in a grid pattern roughly parallel to the railroad line. The community extended from present-day Good Luck Road south to
Annapolis Road.
Residential development continued on vacant lots within the community throughout the 20th century, while commercial development focused along the main roads. Commercial strip development is located along Annapolis Road and
Lanham-Severn Road. The original railroad station and early commercial buildings are no longer extant, though the old schoolhouse and a few of the early dwellings survive.
Most of the more recently built Seabrook (some of which was originally called Seabrook Acres) is a development of red brick homes along the Lanham-Severn Road, now
Maryland Route 564
Maryland Route 564 (MD 564) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Lanham Severn Road, the state highway runs from MD 450 in Lanham east to a dead end near a connection to MD 197 in Bowie. MD 564 was ...
in Maryland, approximately one half mile east of the
Capital Beltway. Many of its homes were built in the 1950s to serve the needs of new employees at the newly established NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
, which is located immediately to the north. Development of apartment complexes and other large structures has occurred during recent years of developer expansion. However, Seabrook remains a residential area with numerous single homes surrounded by green lawns shaded by century-old oak trees.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Seabrook census-designated place has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
Businesses
Seabrook has its own
MARC commuter rail station (
Seabrook Station
Seabrook is a station on the Northeast Corridor located in the unincorporated community of Seabrook, Maryland, United States. It is served by almost all weekday MARC Penn Line trains; all Amtrak and weekend MARC Penn Line trains pass through wit ...
). Seabrook residents are served by a large number of small businesses, including restaurants, fast foot eateries, banks, lawyer services, laundry services, veterinary services, car repair, and numerous other businesses which are located at the Seabrook Station. Seabrook shoppers also tend to shop at the supermarkets and stores at
Glenn Dale, slightly to the east on Route 564, or drive east approximately to
Bowie, with its large shopping complexes such as the
Bowie Town Center.
Lanham-Seabrook
Lanham, Maryland
Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census it had a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's Orange Li ...
, an older community, lies to the west on both sides of the Washington Beltway. Within the Lanham-Seabrook area, there is only one post office (20706), located a half mile east of Seabrook Station on route 564, which both towns must share. As a result, since the post office has been designated "Lanham", all mail to both the Seabrook and Lanham area is town-designated as "Lanham" or "Lanham-Seabrook".
Government
Prince George's County Police Department District 2 Station in
Brock Hall CDP, with a Bowie postal address, serves the community.
The
U.S. Postal Service operates the Lanham Seabrook Post Office in
Lanham CDP.
Education
Prince George's County Public Schools serves Seabrook.
Zoned elementary schools serving the CDP include Robert Frost, Gaywood, Magnolia, and Catherine T. Reed.
Thomas Johnson Middle School serves most of Seabrook CDP while Greenbelt Middle School serves a portion.
DuVal High School serves most of Seabrook CDP while
Eleanor Roosevelt High School serves a portion.
[NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOLS AND BOUNDARIES SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019]
" Prince George's County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2018.
Notable people
*
Rodney McGruder
Rodney Christian McGruder (born July 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Colle ...
,
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player
*
Quinn Ojinnaka, professional wrestler and former American football player
References
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Census-designated places in Maryland
Census-designated places in Prince George's County, Maryland