According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapman, whose family owned 6,000 acres (24 km2) of land in Charles County. The Colonel traveled to South America with his son George, who had contracted tuberculosis, in search of a cure. In his travels, the Colonel had apparently encountered the Río de la Plata, which flows through Argentina and Uruguay, thus naming a portion of his property "La Plata".[6]
In the 1870s, a section of the Pennsylvania Railroad had been constructed through the town of La Plata, leading to its 1888 incorporation.[7]
The La Plata courthouse had been built soon after the 1819 Port Tobacco courthouse caught fire in 1895 under suspicious circumstances.[8] In 1904, the historic Christ Episcopal Church in Port Tobacco, which dates to 1683 and was reconstructed in 1884, was dismantled and its stones were then transported by oxen and cart to its current lot in La Plata.[9]
La Plata has been affected by multiple significant tornadoes in its history.
1926
On November 9, 1926, an F4 tornado killed 17 people, 14 of them in the La Plata Elementary School, which was destroyed.[10][11][12]
1994
On July 27, 1994, two nonfatal twisters, that came only 11 minutes apart, went through the area. The first of them was rated F2 on the Fujita scale, which is already uncommon for Maryland.[13]
On April 28, 2002, another F4 tornado cut a 24-mile-long (39 km) swath through Charles County, with areas around La Plata damaged most severely. This tornado caused five deaths. Local officials credited federal- and state-assisted new construction efforts with helping them to remodel the downtown area following the tornado,[14] as several new public buildings replaced some of those damaged there. A new La Plata Town Hall, for example, became Southern Maryland's first LEED-certified building,[15] and an old building considered historic by local residents, which housed a CVS Pharmacy store at the time of the tornado, was rebuilt in a new location after the storm. In the days after the tornado, help was provided by twenty-seven different jurisdictions, as well as the nearby Amish community in St. Mary's County.[16]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.45 square miles (19.30 km2), of which 7.40 square miles (19.17 km2) is land and 0.05 square miles (0.13 km2) is water.[18]
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, La Plata has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[19]
The median income for a household in the town was $56,490, and the median income for a family was $66,288. Males had a median income of $42,492 versus $32,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,669. About 8.3% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the census[21] of 2010, there were 8,753 people, 3,062 households, and 2,091 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,182.8 inhabitants per square mile (456.7/km2). There were 3,234 housing units at an average density of 437.0 per square mile (168.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 66.3% White, 26.7% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.
There were 3,062 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.7% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.17.
The median age in the town was 38.4 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
Attractions
La Plata is largely a residential community. Some residents work for the Charles County government, while others commute to Waldorf or the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas for work, including to Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The town is experiencing a transformation into a thriving business and commercial center, thanks to the development of office buildings and the town's recent reconstruction.
^Gazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films. p. 804. ISBN1-879362-03-1.
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