Charles County
County
Thomas Stone House
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°29′N 77°01′W / 38.48°N 77.01°W / 38.48; -77.01
Country	United States
State	Maryland
Founded	April 13, 1658
Named for	Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore
Seat	La Plata
Largest community	Waldorf
Area
• Total	643 sq mi (1,670 km2)
• Land	458 sq mi (1,190 km2)
• Water	185 sq mi (480 km2)  29%
Population  (2020)
• Total	166,617
• Density	363.8/sq mi (140.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.charlescountymd.gov

Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617.^[1] The county seat is La Plata.^[2] The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Washington metropolitan area and the Southern Maryland region.^[3]

With a median household income of $103,678,^[4] Charles County is the 39th wealthiest county in the United States, and the highest-income county in the United States with a Black-majority population.^[5]

History

Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council. There was also an earlier Charles County from 1650 to 1654, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County,^[6][7][8] which consisted largely of lands within today's borders but "included parts of St. Mary’s, Calvert, present-day Charles, and Prince George’s County".^[9] John Tayloe I purchased land around Nanjemoy Creek after 1710 from which to mine iron and ship to his furnaces at Bristol Iron Works, Neabsco Iron Works and later Occoquan Ironworks.

In April 1865, John Wilkes Booth made his escape through Charles County after shooting President Abraham Lincoln. He was on his way to Virginia. He stopped briefly in Waldorf (then called Beantown) and had his broken leg set by local Doctor Samuel Mudd, who was later sent to prison for helping him. Boothe then proceeded to hide in the Zekiah Swamp in Charles County, avoiding search parties for over a week until he and his accomplice were able to successfully cross the Potomac River.

In 1926, a tornado ripped through the county leaving 17 dead (including 13 schoolchildren). On April 28, 2002, another tornado (rated an F-4) destroyed much of downtown La Plata killing 3 and injuring over 100 people.^[10]

The county has numerous properties on the National Register of Historic Places.^[11] Among them are Green Park and Pleasant Hill, home of the Green and Spalding Families.

On December 4, 2004, an arson took place in the development of Hunters Brooke, a few miles southeast of Indian Head. The Hunters Brooke Arson was the largest residential arson^[12] in Maryland history.^[13][14][15]

Politics and government

Owing to the considerable voting power of its large number of freedmen following the Civil War,^[16] and later its growth as a suburban area, Charles County was for a long time solidly Republican. The only Democrat to carry Charles County until 1960 was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, although Alf Landon and Wendell Willkie defeated Roosevelt in the next two elections by a combined margin of just 50 votes. Since the turn of the millennium, Charles County has become reliably Democratic, although not as overwhelmingly so as other parts of Maryland's Washington, D.C. suburbs.^[17] Charles County is one of only two counties in the nation to have voted for Al Gore in 2000 after voting for Bob Dole in 1996, along with Orange County, Florida.^[18]

Voter registration