Clinton, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Clinton is an unincorporated area
and census-designated place
(CDP) in Prince George's County
, Maryland
, United States
. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the American Civil War
. The population of Clinton was 26,064 at the 2000 census. However, as of 2007, there is an estimate of 35,096. The postal code for Clinton is 20735. Clinton is historically known for its role in the American Civil War concerning the Abraham Lincoln assassination
. Clinton is adjacent to Camp Springs
, Rosaryville
, also known as Melwood, and Andrews Air Force Base
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²), of which, 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.
of 2000, there were 26,064 people, 8,605 households, and 6,772 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 2,208.6 people per square mile (852.8/km²). There were 8,962 housing units at an average density of 759.4 per square mile (293.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 20.56% White, 73.69% Black, 0.47% Native American, 2.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races
, and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population.
There were 8,605 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples
living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.32.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $71,139, and the median income for a family was $75,036 (these figures had risen to $90,285 and $97,640 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $41,736 versus $39,545 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $24,949. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
, an inn and tavern, and a polling place. This main residence was one of two properties owned by the widowed Mary Surratt
; the second property was in Washington, D.C.
On 14 and 15 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth
, who had two hours earlier assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln
, stopped by the Surrattsville tavern to pick up weapons and supplies. The U.S. Government alleged that Mrs. Surratt had gone there earlier with these supplies, and was in collusion with the conspirators, one of whom was her son, John Surratt
. Because she was found guilty of complicity in the Lincoln assassination, Mary Surratt
was hanged
at the Capitol Prison in Washington D.C., on 7 July 1865. (Her house is now the Surratt House Museum
, with a focus on the assassination.) The U.S. Post Office renamed the town Robeysville, due to the notoriety of the Surratt name.
In 1879, Robeysville was renamed Clinton. The local high school, however, retains the name of Surrattsville, and local historians have continually urged Clinton to regain its unique name. Major local growth began in the 1950s, spurred partly by the expansion of adjacent Andrews Air Force Base
, home of the Air Force Systems Command and the President's plane "Air Force One
".
Also a part of Clinton's history is the Wyoming house
. Wyoming is a frame historic house located in Clinton. It consists of three separate and distinct sections: the main block built in the third quarter of the 18th century, a circa. 1800 kitchen, and a connecting two-bay section of c. 1850. The house is a well preserved example of Maryland's gambrel-roofed colonial architecture, and is more specifically noteworthy as an excellent example of southern Maryland tidewater architecture.
Wyoming is also significant historically as the ancestral home of the Marburys, a family which produced many of Maryland's political, professional, and judicial leaders through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Clinton has mostly single-family housing, but includes a few townhouse developments and one retirement mid-rise. Southern Maryland Regional Hospital is in Clinton, as is a private airfield. Louise F. Cosca Regional Park, a public facility operated by the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, offers camping, hiking, fishing in a lake, an excellent playground, and a nature museum with nature activities. Clinton boasts a major shopping complex as well, and has a large fringe parking lot nearby where Metro buses take passengers a few miles to the Branch Avenue station of the Washington metrorail system. There are more shopping centers yet to be built. Clinton is also home to the James O. Hall Research Center which is located on the premises of the Surratts House.
Then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton
briefly visited Clinton, Maryland, as a campaign stop in 1992.
Clinton is also the hometown of Maryland State Senate
President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.
(a few years ago he moved to Calvert County, but still has a Clinton law office); the Miller family is well-known in the area.
In 1913, B.K. Miller founded a general store at the main intersection in the town which still exists today as one of the largest liquor stores in southern Prince Georges County. It is still owned by the Miller family.
Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden
attended Surrattsville High School
and graduated in 1976. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Pollock
in 2001 and was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress
for her performance in Mystic River
in 2003. Another member of the Surrattsville High School
Class of 1976 was baritone Gordon Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins has won critical acclaim for his performances with opera companies and symphonies around the world.
Clinton is where American
soap opera
actress Laura Wright
grew up. She graduated from Surrattsville High School
in 1988.
Clinton is also where R&B Singer Tank
grew up, as well as opera singer Gordon Hawkins.
NFL running back
Brian Westbrook
, known for playing for the Philadelphia Eagles
and currently playing for the San Francisco 49ers
, grew up in Clinton.
A movie titled The Photon Effect was filmed in the town and also in Baltimore
.
A movie titled "Safehouse" was filmed in Clinton in 2007. Among the actors who flew out from Los Angeles to act in the film was Luke Barnett, who grew up in Clinton and graduated from Grace Brethren Christian School in 2000.
operates public schools that serve the area.
Middle schools:
High schools:
Special schools:
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
and census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The population of Clinton was 26,064 at the 2000 census. However, as of 2007, there is an estimate of 35,096. The postal code for Clinton is 20735. Clinton is historically known for its role in the American Civil War concerning the Abraham Lincoln assassination
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
. Clinton is adjacent to Camp Springs
Camp Springs, Maryland
Camp Springs is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,968 at the 2000 census. Camp Springs is not an official post office designation, but rather the area is divided between the surrounding mailing addresses...
, Rosaryville
Rosaryville, Maryland
Rosaryville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States beside U.S. Highway 301. The population was 12,322 at the 2000 census, including housing developments and rural open space. It was named for a local Roman Catholic church...
, also known as Melwood, and Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
.
Geography
Clinton is located at 38°45′49"N 76°53′44"W (38.763711, -76.895458).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²), of which, 11.8 square miles (30.6 km²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 26,064 people, 8,605 households, and 6,772 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,208.6 people per square mile (852.8/km²). There were 8,962 housing units at an average density of 759.4 per square mile (293.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 20.56% White, 73.69% Black, 0.47% Native American, 2.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population.
There were 8,605 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.32.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $71,139, and the median income for a family was $75,036 (these figures had risen to $90,285 and $97,640 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $41,736 versus $39,545 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $24,949. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
History
Clinton was originally founded in the 1770s. The town, then named Surratt's Villa, was actually a simple crossroads with a few buildings. In the 1800s, it became known as Surrattsville. The main building served as the Post OfficePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, an inn and tavern, and a polling place. This main residence was one of two properties owned by the widowed Mary Surratt
Mary Surratt
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government. She was the mother of John H...
; the second property was in Washington, D.C.
On 14 and 15 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
, who had two hours earlier assassinated
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, stopped by the Surrattsville tavern to pick up weapons and supplies. The U.S. Government alleged that Mrs. Surratt had gone there earlier with these supplies, and was in collusion with the conspirators, one of whom was her son, John Surratt
John Surratt
John Harrison Surratt, Jr. was accused of plotting with John Wilkes Booth to kidnap U.S. president Abraham Lincoln and suspected of involvement in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. His mother Mary Surratt was convicted of conspiracy and hanged by the United States Federal Government...
. Because she was found guilty of complicity in the Lincoln assassination, Mary Surratt
Mary Surratt
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government. She was the mother of John H...
was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at the Capitol Prison in Washington D.C., on 7 July 1865. (Her house is now the Surratt House Museum
Surratt House Museum
The Surratt House is a historic home located at 9110 Brandywine Road in Clinton , Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is a 2-story 19th-century wood-frame structure with clapboarding...
, with a focus on the assassination.) The U.S. Post Office renamed the town Robeysville, due to the notoriety of the Surratt name.
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
, home of the Air Force Systems Command and the President's plane "Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
".
Also a part of Clinton's history is the Wyoming house
Wyoming (Clinton, Maryland)
Wyoming is a frame historic house located in Clinton in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It consists of three separate and distinct sections: the main block built in the third quarter of the 18th century, a ca. 1800 kitchen, and a connecting two-bay section of c. 1850...
. Wyoming is a frame historic house located in Clinton. It consists of three separate and distinct sections: the main block built in the third quarter of the 18th century, a circa. 1800 kitchen, and a connecting two-bay section of c. 1850. The house is a well preserved example of Maryland's gambrel-roofed colonial architecture, and is more specifically noteworthy as an excellent example of southern Maryland tidewater architecture.
Wyoming is also significant historically as the ancestral home of the Marburys, a family which produced many of Maryland's political, professional, and judicial leaders through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Clinton has mostly single-family housing, but includes a few townhouse developments and one retirement mid-rise. Southern Maryland Regional Hospital is in Clinton, as is a private airfield. Louise F. Cosca Regional Park, a public facility operated by the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, offers camping, hiking, fishing in a lake, an excellent playground, and a nature museum with nature activities. Clinton boasts a major shopping complex as well, and has a large fringe parking lot nearby where Metro buses take passengers a few miles to the Branch Avenue station of the Washington metrorail system. There are more shopping centers yet to be built. Clinton is also home to the James O. Hall Research Center which is located on the premises of the Surratts House.
Then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
briefly visited Clinton, Maryland, as a campaign stop in 1992.
Clinton is also the hometown of Maryland State Senate
Maryland State Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland...
President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.
Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.
Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, Jr. is the current president of the Maryland Senate. He has served as president since January 1987, and has been a state senator representing the 27th District since 1975....
(a few years ago he moved to Calvert County, but still has a Clinton law office); the Miller family is well-known in the area.
In 1913, B.K. Miller founded a general store at the main intersection in the town which still exists today as one of the largest liquor stores in southern Prince Georges County. It is still owned by the Miller family.
Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...
attended Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School or SHS is a public high school located in Clinton, Maryland and is a part of the Prince George's County Public School System in Prince George's County, Maryland. The school educates about 1,100 children and teenagers in grades 9 through 12...
and graduated in 1976. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Pollock
Pollock (film)
Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
in 2001 and was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress
for her performance in Mystic River
Mystic River (film)
Mystic River is a 2003 American drama film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood, starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney and Emmy Rossum. The film was written by Brian Helgeland, based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same...
in 2003. Another member of the Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School or SHS is a public high school located in Clinton, Maryland and is a part of the Prince George's County Public School System in Prince George's County, Maryland. The school educates about 1,100 children and teenagers in grades 9 through 12...
Class of 1976 was baritone Gordon Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins has won critical acclaim for his performances with opera companies and symphonies around the world.
Clinton is where American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
actress Laura Wright
Laura Wright
Laura Wright is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Cassie Layne Winslow on Guiding Light , and since 2005, her portrayal of Carly Corinthos on General Hospital; the latter garnered her the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in 2011.-Filmography:* 1991 - 1995:...
grew up. She graduated from Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School
Surrattsville High School or SHS is a public high school located in Clinton, Maryland and is a part of the Prince George's County Public School System in Prince George's County, Maryland. The school educates about 1,100 children and teenagers in grades 9 through 12...
in 1988.
Clinton is also where R&B Singer Tank
Tank (American singer)
Tank is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.-Career:Tank was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved with his family as a child to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Clinton, Maryland. He was a multi-sport athlete at Crossland High School and was offered the opportunity to play college...
grew up, as well as opera singer Gordon Hawkins.
NFL running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Brian Westbrook
Brian Westbrook
Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...
, known for playing for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and currently playing for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, grew up in Clinton.
A movie titled The Photon Effect was filmed in the town and also in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
A movie titled "Safehouse" was filmed in Clinton in 2007. Among the actors who flew out from Los Angeles to act in the film was Luke Barnett, who grew up in Clinton and graduated from Grace Brethren Christian School in 2000.
Education
Clinton, MD, schools spend $6,986 per student. By average, There are 18 pupils per teacher, 789 students per librarian, and 431 children per counselor in Clinton (zip 20735), MD schools.Public schools
Prince George's County Public SchoolsPrince George's County Public Schools
The Prince George's County Public Schools system is a large school district administered by the government of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States and is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education...
operates public schools that serve the area.
- Clinton Grove Elementary School (9420 Temple Hills Road, Temple Hills)
- Francis T. Evans Elementary School (6720 Old Alexander Ferry Road, Clinton)
- James Ryder Randall Elementary School (5410 Kirby Road, Clinton)
- Waldon Woods Elementary School (10301 Thrift Road, Clinton)
Middle schools:
- Stephen Decatur Middle School (8200 Pinewood Drive)
High schools:
- Surrattsville High SchoolSurrattsville High SchoolSurrattsville High School or SHS is a public high school located in Clinton, Maryland and is a part of the Prince George's County Public School System in Prince George's County, Maryland. The school educates about 1,100 children and teenagers in grades 9 through 12...
(6101 Garden Drive)
Special schools:
- Tanglewood Regional Center (8333 Woodyard Road)
Private schools
- Grace Brethren Christian Church and School (6501 Surratts Road); this building was originally built as the first Surrattsville High School, and then became Surrattsville Junior High School before it was sold to Grace Brethren.
- St. John the Evangelist School ( 8912 Old Branch Avenue) for grades Pre-K through 8 opened in 1961.
- Independent Baptist Academy - (Piscataway Road) Grades K-4 and up.
- Clinton Christian School