National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.
It recognizes districts, buildings, structures, objects, and sites for their significance in American history, archaeology, architecture, engineering, or culture, and identifies them as worthy of preservation. Properties, sites and landmarks listed encompass a wide array of types and periods, ranging from prehistoric archaeological sites, historic buildings, rural landscapes, bridges, and urban and suburban neighborhoods.
The National Register is a program of the U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and is administered at the State level by the Maryland Historical Trust.
Special activities, programs, and events are held at our Historic sites throughout the year.
National Historic Places
Prince George’s County Listings
National Historic Landmarks
Based on material excavated by Alice L.L. Ferguson in the 1930s and 1940s, and analyzed by Robert L. Stephenson in the 1950s, the Accokeek Creek site served as the basis for understanding ceramic chronology in the Middle Atlantic region. This chronology established the Early Woodland Marcey Creek/Accokeek/Popes Creek--Middle Woodland Mockley--Late Woodland Potomac Creek continuum. The village referred to as Moyaone represents the largest and last-occupied Piscataway village before the arrival of Europeans.
The Greenbelt Historic District is the original developed section of the City of Greenbelt which was established and expanded between 1935 and 1941 as one of three "green towns" founded by the United States government under the New Deal as an attempt to solve social and economic problems confronting the nation. The three towns are Greenbelt, Maryland; Greenhills, Ohio, (near Cincinnati); and Greendale, Wisconsin (near Milwaukee). A fourth community, Greenbrook, New Jersey, never passed the planning stage. Greenbelt differs from the other "green towns" in that the predominate type of building originally erected is the multi-storied apartment house whereas the duplex is the predominate type originally used in the other communities. Of the three towns, Greenbelt is the only one to still retain many of the original features such as the buildings and sections of the surrounding "greenbelt." Greenbelt also continues the concept of community responsibility as the majority of the housing is owned by a cooperative.
His Lordship's Kindness is one of the finest of a number of Georgian plantation houses built by Prince George's county's wealthy planter class during the late 18th century. Only His Lordship's Kindness and Montpelier, however, incorporate the five-part plan which distinguishes Palladian-influenced, late-Georgian design. Other distinctive Georgian features of the house include the pavilion front, tripartite windows, and Flemish bond brick walls. The house was built for Robert Darnall in the 1780s, on land acquired by his great grandfather, Colonel Henry Darnall, in 1702.
General George Washington, his wife Martha Washington, their nephew Robert Lewis, and Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, the second President, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President, were among the visitors to Montpelier. The central block of the building was built by Thomas Snowden probably after 1740. The property remained in the Snowden family through the 18th century, during which time the wings were constructed, and through the 19th century until the 1890s when it passed through a succession of owners. In the early 20th century, alterations and additions were made, including a kitchen and servant's quarters, extended from the south wing, and a seven-stall garage, which were built by His Excellency, the Minister from Belgium, Mr. Emmanuel Havenith.
Riversdale's architectural significance derives from its role as one of the best late Georgian, five-part houses in Maryland. The Federal interior is of such high quality as to support the local tradition that attributes the design to William Thornton, architect of the Capitol. However, the available information on Thornton does not support the tradition. The historical significance of Riversdale rests with its builder, Henri Joseph the Baron de Stier, and his son-in-law George Calvert, who inherited the property. In 1794 de Stier immigrated to the United States from Belgium, which the French army had occupied. He lived in Anne Arundel County and in the Brice House in Annapolis immediately before building Riversdale, which he modeled after one of his European house. In 1799, de Stier's daughter married George Calvert, a descendant of the Lords Baltimore. Four years later, de Stier decided to return to Europe, leaving his Prince George's County residence in charge of his daughter and son-in-law. Charles Benedict Calvert succeeded his father as master of Riversdale. He devoted his life to agriculture through his supervision of this 2000-acre farm and through county, state, and national agricultural societies. His efforts through the United States Agricultural Society were responsible for the creation of the Department of Agriculture in 1853. Henry Clay often visited Calvert at Riversdale, staying in the northeast bedroom. Tradition maintains that he wrote a draft for the Compromise of 1850 while in that room.
Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility
The Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility is the only facility in NASA's inventory that makes it possible to determine and to minimize the magnetic movement of even the largest unmanned spacecraft and observatories and thereby reduce unwanted torques due to the interaction of magnetic movement with magnetic vector. The limited evaluation of magnetic control systems is also possible as is the final calibration of precision flight magnetometers in orbital configuration. Without the use of the Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility and information it provides in the testing of large satellites, the United States would be unable to successfully orbit and maintain the large variety of satellites that have provided information on weather, communications, earth resources and many other fields. The use and operation of this facility is essential to the continuing success of the American Manned and Unmanned Space program. The Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility is unique and is not replicated anywhere else in the United States.
National Historic Districts
The Broad Creek Historic District is historically significant for its association with the colonial port town of Aire, established in 1706, and the site of Prince George's County's oldest church, St. John's Episcopal Church, established in 1692. The extant building on the site was constructed c. 1766-68. The subsequent development that occurred within Broad Creek was influenced by the establishment of the church in the late-17th century. The historic district is also architecturally significant as a notable collection of buildings that reflect distinct architectural styles, building plans, and construction types of the 18th century. The district boundary includes those properties historically associated with settlement with settlement of the Broad Creek, from 1662 through 1783, as well as interspersing areas of woodland that contribute to the cohesiveness and integrity of the 18th-century landscape setting.
Calvert Hills Historic District
Calvert Hills is an excellent illustration of the residential development on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in the early 20th century. The rural property, historically part of the Calvert family's Rossborough farm and Riversdale Plantation, was subdivided in response to the expanding suburban population, the development of the nearby Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland at College Park), and the College Park Airport. The middle- and upper-middle class suburban community, which is framed by major transportation corridors, developed further with the advents of the streetcar and the automobile. The neighborhood was conceived as additions to the growing community of College Park, which was located to the immediate north of Calvert Hills. The first of eleven additions, "Fanny A. Calvert's Addition to College Park" was undertaken by the Calvert Family in response to the many speculative development opportunities. The chronological development of Calvert Hills is documented by its residential architecture, which dates from the 1890s to the late 1940s, with minimal infill construction in the latter half of the 20th century. Calvert Hills presents an eclectic collection of imposing Colonial Revival-style houses and more modest examples of Queen Anne, Craftsman, and Tudor Revival styles. Building forms vary from large 2 1/2-story brick and wood frame dwellings to smaller bungalow and Cape Cod residences. The many additions were joined as the neighborhood of Calvert Hills in recognition of the prominent Calvert family and incorporated as part of the Town of College Park in 1945.
Fairmount Heights Historic District
The Fairmount Heights Historic District is historically significant in the areas of community planning and development, ethnic heritage, and politics and government, as outlined in the African-American Historic Resources of Prince George's County, Maryland Multiple Property Documentation Form. Fairmount Heights is among the earliest planned communities for African Americans in the Washington, D.C. area. The layout, dwelling types, and construction methods found in the community illustrate patterns typical of early-20th-century African-American residential suburbs. Successful endeavors of the town's citizens, including the erection of a town hall in 1908 and the construction of the first African-American public elementary school in Prince George's County in 1912, are illustrative of successful efforts at self government. The town retains five churches, a community hall, and school that served as social and political centers for the area during segregation. The community was a center of political activism and progressivism throughout the early 20th century, with regular features in local African-American newspapers. During this period, Fairmount Heights was also the home of several notable African Americans who made significant political and social contributions to the town and Prince George's County. The extant residential buildings and community institutions reflect the continued growth of the community through the mid-20th century. To the present, Fairmount Heights is a thriving residential community.
Glenn Dale Turberculosis Hospital & Sanatorium Historic District
The Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanatorium was constructed specifically to house and treat children and adults suffering from tuberculosis. The campus demonstrates the struggle of the District of Columbia to combat the public health threat caused by tuberculosis during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Glenn Dale Hospital, owned and operated by the District, provided free medical care to the victims of the disease. Glenn Dale's location, approximately 15 miles outside the city, provided the remote setting and abundant fresh air that were considered ideal in the treatment of the disease, as the continued inclusion of the stricken in the District's general population without adequate care was viewed as a serious public health threat. Contemporary accounts credit the hospital with possessing the most up-to-date equipment and practices for treating the disease when its operation was limited to the treatment of tuberculosis. The similarity of massing, design, and classical detailing of the buildings and the interconnected series of pedestrian and vehicular circulation paths all contribute to its architectural significance as a distinguishable, unified, representative example of a 20th century therapeutic campus. The campus included interrelated medical, residential, and mechanical buildings and landscaped areas, the majority of which remain intact and contribute to the overall campus-like feel of the property.
The Greenbelt Historic District is the original developed section of the City of Greenbelt which was established and expanded between 1935 and 1941 as one of three "green towns" founded by the United States government under the New Deal as an attempt to solve social and economic problems confronting the nation. The three towns are Greenbelt, Maryland; Greenhills, Ohio, (near Cincinnati); and Greendale, Wisconsin (near Milwaukee). A fourth community, Greenbrook, New Jersey, never passed the planning stage. Greenbelt differs from the other "green towns" in that the predominate type of building originally erected is the multi-storied apartment house whereas the duplex is the predominate type originally used in the other communities. Of the three towns, Greenbelt is the only one to still retain many of the original features such as the buildings and sections of the surrounding "greenbelt." Greenbelt also continues the concept of community responsibility as the majority of the housing is owned by a cooperative.
The Mount Rainier Historic District is significant as an early, large, and essentially intact example of the type of suburban community that changed the character of western Prince George's County in the early years of the 20th century. The historic district is also significant for its large and diverse collection of vernacular inspired residences and commercial buildings erected between c. 1900 and 1939. In addition, there is an important group of five revival-style churches designed by local architects. At least one of the churches is the work of a firm nationally known for its ecclesiastical buildings. Mount Rainier Historic District's period of significance, 1900-1940, represents a time of substantial suburban growth for the western portion of Prince George's County as part of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.
Mount Rainier Historic District
The Mount Rainier Historic District is significant as an early, large, and essentially intact example of the type of suburban community that changed the character of western Prince George's County in the early years of the 20th century. The historic district is also significant for its large and diverse collection of vernacular inspired residences and commercial buildings erected between c. 1900 and 1939. In addition, there is an important group of five revival-style churches designed by local architects. At least one of the churches is the work of a firm nationally known for its ecclesiastical buildings. Mount Rainier Historic District's period of significance, 1900-1940, represents a time of substantial suburban growth for the western portion of Prince George's County as part of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.
North Brentwood Historic District
North Brentwood is of particular significance in the African-American history of Prince George's County. The community was planned specifically for black families by Captain Wallace A. Bartlett, a veteran commander of the U. S. Colored Troops. Beginning at the end of the 19th century, the town was settled by black families seeking, through home ownership, some control over their lives in a segregated society. In spite of significant drawbacks (e.g., the potential for severe flooding from the Northwest Branch, and the fact that only the less valuable/desirable lots were sold to African Americans), these early owners developed their own political and social institutions, and created a successful community. North Brentwood is the first African-American community to have been incorporated in Prince George's County. The surviving historic buildings illustrate the forms and styles of buildings typically constructed in working-class suburban communities of the period, and many have been preserved through methods that clearly reflect the efforts and hardships of a working-class minority community.
Piscataway Village Historic District
The Piscataway Village Historic District is historically significant as a notable collection of historic buildings that reflects development from an 18th century tobacco port to an early-20th century rural linear village. Piscataway includes a distinctly separate early crossroads community that developed at the intersection of roadways leading from Port Tobacco, Nottingham, and Upper Marlboro. Eighteenth-century growth of the district was made possible by Piscataway's designation as a tobacco inspection station in 1747. Throughout the 18th, 19th, and into the 20th centuries, it provided services to the surrounding agricultural community, including taverns, stores, a church, schools, and doctors. Many of the buildings associated with the village's development over time remain, while the population has remained the same or declined, conveying a sense of a rural linear village in an agricultural area. The district is also architecturally significant for its notable examples of 18th, 19th, and 20th century architectural styles and forms, as well as for its exemplification of specific types and periods of construction. The remaining surrounding fields and woodlots contribute to the sense of a rural village. Although the Edelen House (PG:84-23-6) is now separated from the rest of the village by Piscatway Drive, there is the connection of intervening open space. Despite loss of some of the 18th and 19th century dwellings to the village, the village retains the feeling of a linear historic district and lacks incompatible modern infill.
Riverdale Park Historic District
Riverdale Park is an excellent example of the many residential subdivisions that emerged in Prince George's County in the last decades of the 19th century to support the burgeoning population flocking to the nation's capital. The middle-class suburb, which is framed by major transportation corridors, expanded with the early-20th century advent of the streetcar and automobile. Riverdale Park developed primarily under the direction of the Riverdale Park Company between the 1889 platting of the community and 1920. As originally laid out by D.J. Howell, Riverdale Park incorporated a series of angular streets and landscaped traffic circles. The three original sections of the suburb utilized relatively uniform lot dimensions and building setbacks, thereby creating a cohesive development of middle- and upper-middle class housing. The residential housing lots surrounded the Federal-style Riversdale Mansion, which was constructed for the Stier and Calvert families between 1801 and 1807. The original subdivision of Riverdale Park was smaller than the present neighborhood, which now includes additions platted as "West Riverdale," "Gretta Addition to Riverdale," and "Dr. R.A. Bennett's Addition to Riverdale." The chronological development of the now-enlarged Riverdale Park neighborhood is documented by its architecture, which includes a wide arrange of construction dates from the 1890s to the infill construction of the late 1990s. Varying from large 2 1/2-story wood frame dwellings to smaller bungalows, the residential areas of the neighborhood are generally defined by an eclectic collection of imposing Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses, and more modest examples of Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Tudor Revival dwellings. The availability of retail stores at the center of the subdivision and along Baltimore Avenue aided the independence of the community and its eventual incorporation as a town.
University Park Historic District
The University Park Historic District is significant as a large and essentially intact example of an early-20th century, middle-class automobile suburb. The historic district represents the transformation of the western edge of Prince George's County into part of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area by the development of suburban communities in Prince George's County specifically designed to accommodate the automobile. Also significant is the fact that the district was platted and developed largely by the developer. The district derives additional significance for its noteworthy collection of vernacular buildings demonstrating the evolution of early 20th century American domestic architecture. Examples of common styles of the period found in the historic district include the Mediterranean and Tudor Revivals, variations on the Craftsman Aesthetic, and numerous examples of the Colonial Revival including interpretations of Dutch, Georgian, and Federal period substyles.
West Riverdale Historic District
West Riverdale is an excellent illustration of the residential development taking place on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in the early 20th century. The property, historically part of the Calvert family's Riversdale plantation, was subdivided in response to an expanding suburban population and the development of neighboring Riverdale Park, which is located to the immediate east of Baltimore Avenue. Initially platted by Charles Benedict Calvert in 1853 as "Ellaville," 62 acres of the 19th century subdivision were purchased in 1906 by Francis Carmody and replatted as "West Riverdale." Although the neighborhood experienced little initial growth, development in West Riverdale exploded in 1915 after local rest estate developer Walter R. Wilson purchased 200 unimproved lots. West Riverdale was incorporated as part of the Town of Riverdale in 1920. Growth of the neighborhood continued at a steady pace until the 1930s, when over half of the buildings were erected. Platted in 1937, "Dr. R.A. Bennett's Residue Riverdale" completed the West Riverdale community, which became the home of Prince George's County's first hospital in 1941. The increasing population and commercial and governmental growth of metropolitan Washington, D.C., most notably during the last 20 years of the 20th century, has resulted in further development of the Town of Riverdale. This late-20th century growth was predominantly commercial and centered along Baltimore Avenue, thereby physically and visually separating West Riverdale from the Town of Riverdale. The chronological development of West Riverdale is documented by its architecture, which dates from the 1910s to 1942, with minimal infill in the latter half of the 20th century. West Riverdale presents an eclectic collection of modest building forms dressed in high-style ornamentation reflecting the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival styles. Building forms vary from 2 1/2-story brick and wood frame dwellings to smaller bungalow and Cape Cod residences.
National Historic Districts | Nominated Communities
University Park Boundary Expansion
The Town of University Park Boundary Expansion adds 376 contributing mid-20th century buildings to a historic district originally listed in the National Register in 1996 for its significance as an early 20th century automobile suburb. The recent project was requested by the Town of University Park as part of celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Town’s incorporation.
College Heights Estates Historic District
The College Heights Estates Historic District was requested by the College Heights Estates Association (CHEA) in order to recognize the mid-20th century automobile suburb partially located within the Town of University Park and in an adjacent area of unincorporated Hyattsville. The district includes 170 contributing, single-family dwellings of both traditional American and European architectural styles as well as houses that reflect the evolution of American domestic architecture after World War II.
Old Town College Park Historic District
The Old Town College Park Historic District includes 213 contributing properties that reflect the development of a late 19th century railroad and streetcar community in proximity to the University of Maryland campus. The historic district includes single-family dwellings, apartments, institutional buildings and fraternities and sororities constructed from 1889-1965. The area of the National Register district was designated as a Prince George’s County historic district in 2008.
Upper Marlboro Residential Area Historic District
The Upper Marlboro Residential Area Historic District includes 79 contributing properties that reflect the evolution of domestic construction in the County seat from 1721-1960. The district includes several important late 18th and mid 19th century dwellings, a historic Episcopal church from the first half of the 19th century, a historic African-American Methodist Church associated with a congregation established just after the Civil War, several cemeteries and burial grounds, and a number of early and mid-20th century, single-family dwellings.
Early Family Historic District
The Early Family Historic District in Brandywine includes four late-19th and early-20th century single-family dwellings and a large commercial building (c. 1872) associated with several generations of the Early family, whose members were instrumental in settling and developing this crossroads village after the Civil War.
Piscataway Village Historic District(Approved/NHD Listed—12/15/2011)
The Piscataway Village Historic District, located at the intersection of Livingston Road and Floral Park Road in southwestern Prince George’s County, includes 25 properties and is significant as one of the County’s early settlements focused on tobacco and related commerce.
Fairmount Heights Historic District
(Approved/NHD Listed—11/08/2011)
The Fairmount Heights Historic District, which includes more than 500 buildings, is significant as one of the earliest efforts at community development by and for African Americans in Prince George’s County. Successful endeavors of the town’s citizens include the erection of a town hall in 1908 and the construction of the first African-American public elementary school in Prince George’s County in 1912.
St. Thomas Episcopal Parish Historic District
The St. Thomas Episcopal Parish Historic District includes approximately 44 acres that encompass four county designated historic sites: St. Thomas Episcopal Church & Cemetery, Old St. Thomas Episcopal Church Rectory, Croom Industrial and Agricultural School/Croome Settlement School, and St. Simon’s Mission Chapel Site and Cemetery. In addition to its significance as a center of religious activity in southern Prince George’s County, the historic district’s inclusion of the St. Simon’s Mission Chapel site (demolished c. 1972), its remaining cemetery, and the Croom Industrial and Agricultural School/Croome Settlement School reflect the pioneering efforts of the St. Thomas Church congregation to provide for the religious and educational needs of local African-Americans during segregation.
Broad Creek Historic District
(Approved/NHD Listed—12/08/2011)
The Broad Creek National Register Historic District includes more than 455 acres that contain four designated Prince George’s County Historic Sites that date to the 18th century: Harmony Hall (c. 1769), Want Water Ruins (c. 1708), St. John’s Church (c. 1766-1768), and Piscataway House (c. 1750 and relocated c. 1932). The Broad Creek Historic District, Prince George’s County’s first county historic district, was designated by the Prince George’s County Council in July 1985.
Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital & Sanatorium Historic District
(Approved/NHD Listed—11/18/2011)
The Glenn Dale Hospital property encompasses more than 200 acres that include a 60-acre campus of 21 buildings and 1500 acres of open space and woodland. Designed in the early 1930s by the Office of the Municipal Architect of the District of Columbia, the Georgian Revival style complex was originally intended for use as a tuberculosis sanatorium. From 1933 until 1959, the hospital provided state-of-the art care for tuberculosis; with the eradication of the disease by the mid-twentieth century, the hospital provided treatments for other chronic diseases from 1959 until it closed in January 1982. The property was sold to the M-NCPPC in March 1995.