Waldorf Maryland History & Facts

Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is in the Southern Maryland region. It is located 23 miles (37 km) south-southeast of Washington, D.C. It is an urban area, the population (excluding the CDP of St. Charles) was 81,410 at the 2020 census and lies within 36.5 square miles. Waldorf has experienced dramatic growth, increasing its population 16 fold from fewer than 5,000 residents in 1980 to its current population. It is now the largest commercial and residential area in Southern Maryland as well as being a major suburb of Washington D.C.

What is now the Waldorf area was originally part of the territory of the Piscataway Indian Nation, along with all of Southern Maryland, including Charles County. Close to the current western Waldorf area, the presence of villages, Indian grave sites (holding remains of over 1,000 people) and hunting encampments of Native American / Indian peoples have been confirmed, by archeological study of evidence, dating from 1690 back to 6,000 years ago.

Europeans and African Americans first settled in the area in the 1600s. The town of Waldorf's original name was Beantown at least as far back as the American Civil War. During his flight after assassinating Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth told a road sentry he was headed to his home in Charles County near Beantown and was allowed to proceed. In 1880, the General Assembly of Maryland by an act changed the name to "Waldorf" in honor of William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919), the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), who was born in Walldorf, Palatinate, Germany. On July 29, 1908, the city of Plumb Valley in Waseca County, Minnesota, changed its name to Waldorf after Waldorf, Maryland.

Once a tobacco market village, Waldorf came to prominence in the 1950s as a gambling destination after slot machines were legalized in Charles County in 1949. The boom lasted until 1968, when gambling was once again outlawed. Its subsequent substantial growth as a residential community began with a 1970 loan package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which fueled the giant planned community of St. Charles, south of Waldorf.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 36.5 square miles (94.5 km2), of which 36.2 square miles (93.8 km2) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.7 km2), or 0.7%, is water.

The soils of Waldorf are known to contain various amounts of Marlboro Clay, a type that is only found in Southern Maryland.
It can be either red or grey in color.

Famous Peoples From Waldorf Maryland

Joel Rueben Madden

(March 11, 1979) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte. He is also part of the pop rock collaboration the Madden Brothers with his identical twin brother Benji Madden.

Joel Rueben Combs was born on March 11, 1979, in Waldorf, Maryland, to Robin Madden and Roger Combs. He has an identical twin, Benji Madden, who plays guitar and sings backing vocals in their band, Good Charlotte. He also has an older brother named Josh Madden who also works in the music industry, and a younger sister named Sarah Madden. Madden attended La Plata High School in La Plata, Maryland.

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