Oxon Hill, Maryland

Oxon Hill, Maryland

Oxon Hill is part of the Oxon Hill-Glassmanor census-designated place (CDP) in southern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States.[1] Oxon Hill is a suburb of Washington, DC located southeast of the downtown district and east of Alexandria, Virginia. It is the home of the new 300-acre (1.2 km2) National Harbor development on the shore of the Potomac River .

Contents

Classification

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1970 11,974
1980 36,267 202.9%
source:[2][3]

Because it is not formally incorporated, it has no official boundaries, but the United States Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place consisting of Oxon Hill and the adjacent community of Glassmanor, designated Oxon Hill-Glassmanor, for statistical purposes. According to Rand McNally, the latest population estimate for Oxon Hill is around 26,750.

History

Oxon Hill was named for the colonial 18th century manor home of Thomas Addison (which burned in 1895 but was replaced in 1929 by a large 49-room neo-Georgian-style home called Oxon Hill Manor, standing on a bluff over the Potomac River). The current Manor is now owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and is used for cultural activities as well as being rented for weddings and special events (it reopened in Oct. 2007 after repairs). Oxon is an abbreviation for the Latin Oxoniensis, meaning "of Oxford." The area now known as Oxon Hill reminded Addison of the area near Oxford, England.[4] The Revolutionary patriot John Hanson died while visiting the first Manor, and may be buried there in an unmarked grave.

Today the community is bisected by the busy Capital Beltway (I-95/495), and is near the interstate Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The enlarged bridge was opened December 15, 2008, and highway interchanges and ramps near the bridge were also re-aligned and re-configured. Prior to that date, traffic backed up into Oxon Hill daily for decades as 250,000-300,000 vehicles crossed the Wilson Bridge. (Thousands of white-collar commuters working in Northern Virginia's booming economy find that housing is cheaper in Prince George's County, Maryland).

Oxon Hill includes many garden apartment and townhouse communities along with single-family detached homes built mostly between the 1940s when suburban development began, through the early 1990s, including the incorporated town Forest Heights. In earlier decades, many residents were scientists from the adjacent U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force personnel, or musicians in military bands, but very few are now, as today such professionals prefer newer and more upscale communities. Oxon Hill's two principal shopping centers ("Rivertowne" built about 1980 which includes a K-Mart and Home Depot, and "Eastover" built about 1955) attract neighborhood customers as well as shoppers from nearby Southeast Washington, D.C. Eastover, located at the D.C. state line, is a hub of many bus routes, some of them operating 24 hours a day, and has a Prince George's County Police station. The apartment communities closest to the D.C. line are informally called by their original name "Glassmanor" although rental companies have officially given them newer names.[citation needed] Rather unusual community features are a nursing home and a large cultural center operated for an ethnic Filipino population who are numerous in Oxon Hill and Fort Washington, Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag; see the help page the Oxon Hill Library Branch contains the Sojourner Truth Room, an African American research collection. This comprehensive collection of reference materials on African American history and culture includes over 16,000 cataloged items (many are rare or out-of-print), periodicals, sheet music by African American composers, pictures and posters. Vertical files contain pamphlets, clippings and bibliographies. Copies of selected materials are also in the Oxon Hill Branch's circulating collection. An extensive collection of current and historical periodicals, including the NAACP's Crisis from 1910, the Journal of Negro History from 1916 and Ebony from 1945.

The collection includes original editions of some slave narratives, as well as many reprint editions and the thirty-one volume Writer's Project series. Other topics are antislavery and slavery tracts, literary criticism, and the history of African Americans in Maryland and Prince George's County.

Outdoor recreation

Rosecroft Raceway (founded in 1949) and Henson Creek Golf Course are among Oxon Hill's recreational attractions, although in 2008 Rosecroft ended live harness horse racing and now only offers betting on televised simulcast races (per article in Washington Post, May 20, 2010) (the Maryland slot machine referendum in November 2008 did not include Rosecroft in its list of possible sites to add slots). Rosecroft Raceway closed June 19, 2010[5]

The Parks Commission's 1974 Henson Creek ice skating rink was enclosed and expanded to year-round use in 2005;[citation needed] across from it is a private club swimming pool, the Oxon Hill Recreation Club (OHRC). OHRC has been in continuous operation since 1958.[citation needed] A double gymnasium and recreation and learning center are planned in the future adjacent to the rink and pool. The Henson Creek paved hiker-biker trail extends 5-1/2 miles along a stream. Oxon Cove Farm (formerly Oxon Hill Children's Farm) is a free of charge, educational facility operated daily for families by the National Park Service. Its future is uncertain because it is located in the shadow of the National Harbor. The farm also has a bicycle trail used by a few commuters to nearby government facilities. General public indoor and outdoor swimming pools are also on Allentown Road near Padgett's Corner.

Oxon Hill is also the site of the National Harbor, a major development on the Potomac River: a 7,300,000 square feet (680,000 m²) mixed-use community including 2,500 residential units, 4,000 hotel rooms, a convention center, 1 million square feet (90,000 m²) of retail, dining, and entertainment, and 500,000 square feet (46,000 m²) of class-"A" office space, along with the largest marina on the Potomac River and the largest hotel in the entire Washington area.[citation needed] The first phase of the development began opening in April 2008.

Notable resident

Notable former residents

  • Dr. John Bayne, 19th century founder of the University of Maryland, superintendent of county schools, Union Army physician, and one of the first Americans to grow and eat a tomato, proving they were not poisonous as had been thought. His home, "Salubria", across from National Harbor, was recently demolished, and National Harbor plans to build "outlet shops" on the property.[8][dubious ]
  • Sumner Welles, U.S. Undersecretary of State to Franklin D. Roosevelt, lived in the second "Oxon Hill Manor" home and hosted Roosevelt and possibly Sir Winston Churchill there. The home was later occupied by Fred Maloof (a wealthy oilman, timberland tycoon, and art collector) before coming into ownership of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
  • Roger L. Easton, Naval scientist, the chief inventor of GPS and winner of a 2004 Presidential National Medal of Technology, lived on Oxon Hill Road (more information is on "Google images").
  • U.S. Senator George McGovern, Democratic presidential candidate, lived briefly in Glassmanor while a freshman U.S. Congressman. (source: Washingtonian Magazine biographical article)
  • Sammy Nestico, distinguished band music composer/arranger, lived in Birchwood City in the 1960s

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Oxon Hill, Maryland
  2. ^ "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING (1790-2000)". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.html. Retrieved 2010-07-17. 
  3. ^ Not emulated separately in 1990 & 2000. Community combined with Glassmanor to form Oxon Hill-Glassmanor since 1990.
  4. ^ Nathania A. Branch Miles and Jane Taylor Thomas (2006). Oxon Hill. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738542555. http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=arcadia&Product_Code=0738542555. Retrieved 2007-07-31. 
  5. ^ Rosecroft Raceway Official Notice of Closure
  6. ^ People Magazine
  7. ^ G. Gordon Liddy Biography
  8. ^ National Harbor lands Tanger Outlet Center
  9. ^ Bernstein, Adam (November 7, 2006). "News Photographer Arnie Sachs; Took Pictures of 11 Presidents". The Washington Post. p. B07. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/06/AR2006110601080.html. Retrieved 2008-04-14. 

Coordinates: 38°48′12″N 76°59′23″W / 38.80333°N 76.98972°W / 38.80333; -76.98972


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