Broad Creek, Prince George's County, Maryland

Broad Creek in Prince George's County was the first footprint of European settlement in the immediate counties around what would become the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.. The area is part of greater Fort Washington, MD.

The area was settled by Europeans in the 1660s and the town was created in 1706 when the colonial Maryland Legislature authorized surveying and laying out the towns of Queen Anne Town, Nottingham, Mill Town, Piscataway, Aire (also known as Broad Creek) and Upper Marlboro (then known as Marlborough Town). [cite book
last = Baltz
first = Shirley Vlasak
title = A Chronicle of Belair
publisher =Bowie Heritage Committee
date = 1984
location =Bowie, Maryland
pages =pages 4-7
LCCN = 85165028] [cite web
title =African-American Sites Along the Patuxent River: Queen Anne Town
publisher =Maryland Department of Natural Resources
url =http://www.dnr.md.gov/publiclands/aapaxqa.html
accessdate =05/04/2007] cite book
last =Virta
first =Alan
title =Prince George's County: A Pictorial History
publisher =The Donning Company
date =1984
location =Norfolk, Virginia
pages =-40]

In 1747, the legislature tried to improve the quality and the method of marketing tobacco, then the major crop of the area, and established a formal system of tobacco inspection and quality control. The town was home to one of seven state tobacco warehouses built in Prince George's County.

The site is located 9 miles south of the U.S. Capitol building on the Potomac River.

Today, this "first footprint" of settlement in the capitol area is an official Prince George's County Historic District with three 17th century homesites, and an 18th century Episcopal Church structure. The Broad Creek Historic District comprises 900 square acres along the Potomac River, and is remarkable for its environmental resources, as well as its 12,000 year old Indian archeological discoveries.

References

External links

* [http://www.mncppc.org/county/BCHD/BCHDPlanning_Study/BCHDP%20Planning%20Study_Cover.pdf Pictures of Broad Creek, Prince George's County, MD from Maryland National Park and Planning Report]