Scaggsville, Maryland

Scaggsville, Maryland
Census-designated place
Scaggsville
Coordinates: 39°8′33″N 76°53′24″W / 39.14250°N 76.89000°WCoordinates: 39°8′33″N 76°53′24″W / 39.14250°N 76.89000°W
Country  United States
State  Maryland
County Howard
Area
 • Total 10.7 sq mi (27.6 km2)
 • Land 10.3 sq mi (26.6 km2)
 • Water 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km2)
Elevation 390 ft (120 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 24,333
 • Density 2,365/sq mi (913.3/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 20723
Area code(s) 240, 301
GNIS feature ID 2583685

Scaggsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is situated near the southeastern tip of Howard County, between Laurel and Fulton. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 24,333.[1] The town mainly consists of residences, with some commercial establishments. Scaggsville generally falls within ZIP code 20723, assigned to Laurel, though the town formerly had its own post office.

At the 2000 census the Scaggsville area was counted as part of the North Laurel census-designated place.

History

Highridge neighborhood

The town is named for the Scaggs family, who settled 700 acres (2.8 km2) of farmland in the 1830s and continue to live in the region. The area also used the name "Hells Corner" as a postal address in Civil War times.[2][3] The historic path running through town was shown on maps as far back as 1795. This path is now named Lime Kiln Road, Scaggsville Road, and Whiskey Bottom Road.[4] In the 19th century, Scaggsville was a stagecoach stop on the trip from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. Stagecoaches would ford the Patapsco River until a wooden bridge was built in 1859, which washed out in an 1868 flood. Three additional bridges washed out by 1883 before a steel truss bridge was built.[5] In 1941, the Maryland Gazette reported that the town consisted of 15 households. Today, it has grown to a suburban community made up of several neighborhoods.

Geography

Scaggsville is located in southern Howard County, bordered by Fulton to the west, Columbia to the north, North Laurel to the southeast, West Laurel in Prince George's County to the south, and Burtonsville in Montgomery County to the southwest. The Patuxent River forms the southern edge of the Scaggsville CDP, as well as the Howard County line. U.S. Route 29 follows the western edge of the CDP, leading north 5 miles (8 km) to Columbia and south 19 miles (31 km) to downtown Washington, D.C. Interstate 95 forms the eastern edge of the CDP, leading northeast 18 miles (29 km) to downtown Baltimore and southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Washington's Beltway. Maryland Route 216 runs east-west through the center of Scaggsville, connecting US 29 and I-95, and leads 4 miles (6 km) southeast to Laurel.

Name change efforts

Some residents have advocated changing the name of Scaggsville to Rocky Gorge, since the community borders the Rocky Gorge Reservoir (also known as the T. Howard Duckett Reservoir) on the Patuxent River. Efforts to change the name, however, have been unsuccessful.[6]

See also

Sources

Notes

  1. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Scaggsville CDP, Maryland". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ Michael Hait. The Civil War Draft in Maryland: Lists of Drafted Men, 1862–1865, Volume I. p. 291.
  3. ↑ Barbara W. Feaga. Howard's Roads to the Past. p. 83.
  4. ↑ A Pictorial History Howard County. The Donning Company. 1987. p. 21. ISBN 0-89865-539-0.
  5. ↑ Barbara W Feaga. Howard's Roads to the Past. p. 83.
  6. ↑ Steinberg, Liz (2002-05-19). "Quiet Scaggsville is expecting to get quieter". baltimoresun.com (Baltimore Sun). Retrieved 2008-08-14.