Prince
George's County has over 300 years of fascinating
history, significant "first," and unique tales.
Our Fun Facts page is your introduction to
interesting stuff about Prince George's County.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY IS HOME TO:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Six Flags
America, National Wildlife Visitor Center,
FedEx Field and the Washington Redskins, Andrews
Air Force Base & the President's Air Force
One aircraft, the University of Maryland,
Bowie State University, Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary,
National Agricultural Library, National Archives
at College Park, Rosecroft Raceway, USDA's
Agricultural Research Center.
 WHAT'S IN A NAME: Prince George's County was named for Prince George of Denmark. He was the husband of Queen Anne of England (1702-1714).
A STAR IS BORN: Prince George's County
was officially founded on April 23, 1696.
 COUNTY FLAG: On August 17, 1695, Prince George's County was granted colors for horse and foot soldiers, and a County flag consisting of St. George's Cross on a white field. The county seal in the flag's upper left quadrant did not become an official part of the flag until 1963.
 COUNTY SEAL: The County Seal consist of a coat of arms symbolizing Queen Anne, France & England in the first and forth quarters; Scotland in the second quarter and Ireland in the third quarter. It was designed in 1696.
 COUNTY SEAT: In 1706, the town of Marlborough
was founded and it became the County seat
in 1721. The name and spelling were changed
to "Upper Marlboro" around 1793.
COUNTY SONG: "Hail Prince George's"
COUNTY MOTTO: "Semper Eadem" which means "Ever the Same"
COUNTY BIRD: Eastern Bluebird
COUNTY FLOWER: Daffodil
COUNTY TREE: Bradford Pear Tree
COUNTY SHRUB: Glenn Dale Azaleas
COUNTY HERB: Beebalm
AT ITS PEAK: The highest elevation in Prince George’s County is 443 feet. The “high point” is located at Riding Stable Road in Laurel, near the Montgomery County Line; 1.2 miles NW of the junction of I-95 and MD Route 198. By comparison, the highest point in Maryland (at 3,360 ft.) is Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain, which is at the southwest corner of Garrett County.
BOMBS AWAY:The first testing of a bomb dropping from an airplane occurred in 1911 at the College Park Airfield (Airport).
TURTLE MANIA: The Diamondback Terrapin (turtle) was made the State reptile and official mascot of Prince George's County's University of Maryland College Park in 1994. However, the mascot, known as Testudo, has been affiliated with the University athletic program since 1933.
RAPID-FIRE AIR DEFENSE: The first testing of a machine gun from an airplane occurred in 1912 at the College Park Airfield (Airport).
SCANDAL, WATERGATE & NIXON TAPES: The National Archives at College Park is best known as the current home of former President Richard Nixon's infamous Watergate tapes. This state-of-the-art facility houses an extensive collection of important and historical documents, tapes and film.
LADIES FIRST: The first woman passenger to fly in an airplane occurred in 1909 at the College Park Airfield (Airport).
THE PRESIDENT'S AIRPORT: Since 1961, Andrews Air Force Base (in Prince George's County) has been home of the official presidential aircraft "Air Force One." It is also the main port of entry for foreign military and government officials en route to Washington and the United States.
BUSY IN BUSINESS: Prince Geoge's County has over 14,500 businesses. Over 400 businesses employ 100 or more workers.
WE'RE HIGH ON EDUCATION: Prince George's County
has a 2-year college (Prince George's Community
College) and five 4-year colleges/universities
(including the University of Maryland and
Bowie State University).
LAND AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE: The land area
of Prince George's County is 495.5 square
miles.
BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX: If Prince George's
County were a city, it would be the 13th
largest city in the United States. That's
larger than San Francisco, Atlanta or Boston.
STATELY APPEAL: If Prince George's County were a state, it would be more populated than Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Wyoming or Alaska.
COLONIAL HERITAGE: Prince George's County has within its borders more than 260 historic sites and more 18th century homes than Williamsburg.
FIRST COMMUNICATION: Prince George's County is the site of Samuel Morse's first experimental telegraph message and the country's first telegraph line.
FIRST IN POSTAL SERVICE: Prince George's County is the site of the country's first U.S. Postal Air Mail Service.
FIRST IN FLIGHT: Prince George's County was the home of the nation's first African American owned and operated airport. The Columbia Air Center was established in 1941 by John W. Greene.
HOME TO AN HISTORIC AIRPORT: Prince George's County is the home to the world's oldest continuously operating airport, College Park Airport. The Wright Brothers taught flying lessons here in 1909.
ARMY'S FIRST FLYING SCHOOL: Prince George's County was home to the first Army Aviation
School, established at College Park Airfield (Airport) in 1911 with five planes and four hangars.
GODDARD CENTER TAKES FLIGHT: In 1959, the Goddard
Space Flight Center was established as NASA's first space flight
center.
MOST CHALLENGING MISSION: Prince
George's County was the base for one
of
the most challenging missions ever conducted
by NASA. In December 1993, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center managed the highly
successful
first servicing mission of the Hubble
Space Telescope.
CLEAN AS A WHISTLE: The world's
largest clean room is in Prince George's
County
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Hubble Clean Room is an 86,000 square-foot
(7989.4 square-meter) building used to
integrate
and test space equipment and hardware.
How clean is it? 1,000 times cleaner
than a
hospital operating room.
THE NATION'S FIRST CHOPPER FLIGHT: The
Nation's first recognized, controlled
helicopter flight occurred in Prince
George's
County. It happened in a demonstration
to the Navy in 1924 at College Park Airfield
(Airport).
A PLANE LIKE NO OTHER: Prince
George's County was the birthplace of
the famous
Ercoupe. The Ercoupe was a small, general
airplane designed for anyone to fly.
The
Engineering and Research Corporation
(ERCO) of Riverdale began production
of this unique
aircraft in 1939. It was the "Ford
Escort" of airplanes.
AT OUR BORDER: Prince George's County is
bordered by Washington, DC, Montgomery County,
Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Calvert
County, Charles County and Northern Virginia
just across the Potomac River.
A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON: Fear the turtle.
2002 marked an exciting year for the University
of Maryland - located in Prince George's
County. The Terps were crowned 2002 NCAA
National Champions in Men's Basketball.
RING OF CHAMPIONS: Prince George's County
was home to two World Championship boxers:
Sugar Ray Leonard and Riddick Bowe.
THE AREA'S ONLY NBA CHAMPION: The area's
only NBA Championship team was from Prince
George's County. The Washington Bullets
(now the Washington Wizards) won their only
championship in 1978. They played at the
famous Capital Centre in Landover before
moving to MCI Center in Washington, DC.
THE TRIPLE CROWN: Prince George's County
was home to two Triple Crown Winners: Gallant
Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935.
LAND OF DINOSAURS: The official Maryland
State Dinosaur is the Astrodon Johnstoni.
It lived between 130 million and 95 million
years ago. Teeth from the Astrodon Johnstoni
were first discovered in Prince George's
County in 1858.
MEN OF SPIRIT: John Carroll, born in
Prince George's County, was the first Bishop
and the first Archbishop of the Catholic
Church in North America. Thomas John Claggett,
also born in Prince George's County, was
the first Episcopal Bishop in the United
States.
LAND TO SHARE: The original territory
of Prince George's County included what
is now the District of Columbia, Montgomery,
Frederick, Washington, Alleghany and Garrett
Counties.
BIRTH OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: In 1791, Prince
George's County provided land to create
the greater part of our Nation's Capital,
Washington, D.C.
WORLD'S LARGEST BOOK BIN: The National Agricultural Library in Prince
George's County, is the largest library of its type (agriculture) in the world.
CELL PHONE FIRST:
Prince George's County was home to the world's
first
independent cellular phone system, Cellular
One.
FULL OF HOT AIR: America's first unmanned hot air balloon ascension took place in Bladensburg in 1784.
BATTLE FOR THE NATION'S CAPITAL: On August 24, 1814, one of the nation's most historic military engagements against the British, the Battle of Bladensburg, occurred during the War of 1812. By the end of the day, American forces were orderd to fall back. The British would continue on to set the White House ablaze. They also burned the U.S. Capitol and other government buildings before abandoning the city the next day.
THE BIGGEST STADIUM
IN THE NFL: Landover's FedExField,
home of the Washington Redskins football
team, is the largest capacity stadium
in the National Footbal League. It
can seat over 93,000 fans.
THE BEGINNING OF THE MUPPETS: The creator of the Muppets,
Jim Henson, grew up in University Park and was a graduate of
the University of Maryland. There is a special statue on the campus grounds
commemorating his
achievements.
HISTORIC GREENTOWN: Greenbelt is a planned community that
was designed and built by the federal government during the Great Depression
of the 1930s. Greenbelt was the first of three federal "greentowns" -- with
one in Wisconsin and Ohio. In 1997, Greenbelt became a National Historic
Landmark.
DOWN WITH THE SHIP: During the War of 1812, Commodore Joshua
Barney sank his flotilla at Bladensburg rather than have it captured by the
British as they stormed the capitol.
SIR, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL: The Dueling Grounds in Colmar
Manor was the site of over 50 duels between 1808-1868. One of the most famous
disputes occurred between Commodore Stephen Decatur and James Barron on March
22, 1820. Decatur was fatally wounded during the exchange of gunfire. Among
others to lose their lives at the Dueling Grounds, General Armistead Mason
and Daniel Key, the son of Francis Scott Key.
A WILDLIFE HAVEN: Nine kinds of turtles live here. And,
317 types of birds have been officially observed in Prince George's County.
GOVERNOR BY WAY OF PRINCE GEORGE'S: To date, eight Prince
Georgians have served as governor of the state of Maryland.
FLIGHT OF AN ASSASSIN LEADS TO FIRST EXECUTION OF A WOMAN: Built
in 1852, the Surratt House in Clinton was a farm house, tavern, hostelry,
post office, and polling place. It was also a Confederate safehouse. On April
14, 1865, President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, stopped at Surratt
on his flight out of Washington, DC. As a result, Mary Surratt was convicted
in a military court of conspiracy to assassinate the President. On July 7,
1865, she became the first woman to be executed by the federal government.
DAUGHTER OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON RESIDED HERE: The daughter of Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, once lived in Prince George’s County from 1907-1913. Portia Washington Pittman and her husband, William Pittman, lived on Eastern Avenue in Fairmont Heights before moving to Dallas, Texas in 1913. William Pittman was one of the country’s prominent, early black architects and built the house in Fairmont Heights that still stands today.
ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS HELP BUILD A COUNTY: In the early 1800's at least half of the population of Prince George's County, Maryland, was enslaved African Americans.
PLANTATION SITE JOINS THE UNDERGROUND: In 2005, Oxon Cove Park was accepted as a member of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom for the discovery of the Jacob Shaw story. Jacob Shaw was enslaved on the Berry Plantation, which today comprises the southern most part of the park. Seventeen enslaved people lived on the property in the 1800s.
CONNECTION TO THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS TREE: Each year the Oxon Hill Farm draft horses deliver a Christmas tree to the White House that is donated by the National Christmas Tree Growers Association.
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