Charles County, Maryland

Charles County is a  in the south central portion of the  of.

As of 2000, the population was 120,546. Its is. The county was named for (-), third.

This is a part of the.

History
Charles County was created in by an Order in Council. There was an earlier Charles County from to, sometimes referred to in historic documents as Old Charles County.

On, , a cut through the County and destroyed much of downtown.

Law/Government
Charles County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. There are five commissioners. , they are:
 * Edith Jerry Patterson
 * Wayne Cooper
 * Gary V. Hodge
 * Samuel N. Graves, Jr
 * Reuben B. Collins, II

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,666 (643 ). 1,194 km² (461 sq mi) of it is land and 472 km² (182 sq mi) of it (28.33%) is water.

Transportation
One runs through the county, some other notable highways are:

Hunters Brooke Arson
On  an arson took place in the development of Hunters Brooke. This is located a few miles southeast of. It is the worst residential fire in the state.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northwest)
 * (east)
 * (west)
 * (west)
 * (southeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)

Demographics
The county is experiencing a dramatic growth in African American population between 1990 and 2004. Although census figures here are shown from 2000:

As of the of 2000, there were 120,546 people, 41,668 households, and 32,292 families residing in the county. The was 101/km² (262/sq mi). There were 43,903 housing units at an average density of 37/km² (95/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 68.51%, 26.06% or , 0.75% , 1.82% , 0.06% , 0.72% from , and 2.08% from two or more races. 2.26% of the population were or  of any race. 11.6% were of, 10.8% , 10.2% , 9.3% and 5.3%  ancestry according to.

There were 41,668 households out of which 41.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.50% were non-families. 17.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 33.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $62,199, and the median income for a family was $67,602. Males had a median income of $43,371 versus $34,231 for females. The for the county was $24,285. About 3.70% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns
This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:


 * 1) (incorporated )
 * 2) (incorporated )
 * 3) (incorporated ) (Note that, despite its name, Port Tobacco Village is a town, not a village.)

All three are classified as s under Maryland law. About half the County population lives around the large unincorporated community of.

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the, the , and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following s in the county:



Other unincorporated places not listed as Census-Designated Places but known in the area include:



Colleges and universities

 * , in.

Notable residents

 * (1833–1883)- born in Charles County, Mudd is the Maryland doctor implicated and imprisoned for aiding John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
 * (1811-1850), born near Allens Fresh in Charles County, from Georgia
 * (1615-1684) Born Drury Lane, London, England immigrated 1634, founded Wollaston Manor plantation and Cobb Island.
 * Prominent statesmen, , and , and , Surgeon General to.
 * was born in Charles County in 1789.
 * Co-discoverer of the   and Captain  of the  ship "" were born near.
 * , hip-hop musician, lives in Waldorf
 * , musician, lived in Waldorf
 * and from the band  grew up in Waldorf
 * , noted terror hijacking victim, grew up in Pinefield, Waldorf
 * (1945 – 1994), legendary guitarist, lived in Newburg