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Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Southern Maryland region.
[edit] History
Charles County was created in 1658 by an Order in Council. There was also an earlier Charles County from 1650 to 1653, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County. 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 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. The county has numerous properties on the National Register of Historic Places. 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 in Maryland history. [edit] Timeline
[edit] Population History
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