Indian Head, MD

Indian Head, Maryland
Location of Indian Head, Maryland
Coordinates: 38°35′52″N 77°9′25″W / 38.59778, -77.15694
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Charles
Area
- Town	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- Town
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	20640
Area code(s)	301
FIPS code	24-41500
GNIS feature ID	0590532

Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. The name of the base has varied over the years from Naval Powder Factory, to Naval Propellant Plant, to Naval Ordnance Station, to the present Naval Support Facility Indian Head. The facility's main tenant activity is the Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center (NSWC/IH). Advanced research in energetic systems takes place at NSWC/IH. NSWC/IH absorbed the function of the closed Naval Ordnance Laboratory, formerly in White Oak, MD. 3,700 employees currently work at the base.

The city of Indian Head was incorporated in 1920. One source cites that its name came from a legend relating to the Algonquin Indian tribe. Another story claims that the town was named Indian Head because it resembles an Indian’s head from the air. But the simplest explanation is that the peninsula, a "head" of land, was occupied by Indians when the first white settlers arrived - thus "Indian Head" means "Indian Peninsula." Indian Head was a thriving small town during the WWII years and up until the late 1960s. The construction of St. Charles, a giant planned community in nearby Waldorf, brought with it retail chains and big-box stores, which attracted Indian Head's shopping dollars and started the demise of local businesses.

Today, Indian Head is rich in history, a nice place to live, but is lacking many basic retail and service businesses. Many remedies for this situation have been attempted, but the desired growth is slow in coming.

Plans to build a massive "Chapman's Landing" housing development just to the north, were thwarted in the 1990s when the state government purchased the land to preserve as green space under its "smart growth" program. The town recently opened a "black box" stage theater, a new community center building, new ball fields, and is exploring other efforts to revitalize the town. Indian Head is bisected by MD Route 210, otherwise known as Indian Head Highway, which dead-ends in the middle of town at the entrance to Indian Head Naval Support Facility. Because of this, the town cannot benefit from through-traffic, but must be a destination in its own right.

Geography

Indian Head is located at 38°35′52″N, 77°9′25″W (38.597781, -77.156926)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 3,422 people, 1,222 households, and 888 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,074.2/km² (2,792.7/mi²). There were 1,311 housing units at an average density of 411.5/km² (1,069.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 55.64% White, 38.08% African American, 1.78% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.

There were 1,222 households out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $42,702, and the median income for a family was $48,375. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $31,451 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,778. About 9.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

External links

Naval Support Activity, South Potomac Coordinates: 38.597781° N 77.156926° W

Municipalities and communities of Charles County, Maryland
County seat: La Plata
Towns	Indian Head | La Plata | Port Tobacco Village
CDPs	Bennsville | Bryans Road | Hughesville | Potomac Heights | St. Charles | Waldorf | White Plains
Communities	Bel Alton | Benedict | Bryantown | Cobb Island | Dentsville | Faulkner | Ironsides | Issue | Malcolm | Marbury | Morgantown | Mount Victoria | Nanjemoy | Newburg | Pisgah | Pomfret | Pomonkey | Rison | Rock Point | Swan Point | Welcome

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