Hyattsville, Maryland

The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845. He thought the proximity to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks and the telegraph lines made the area a good site for a town, and the surrounding farmlands were soon subdivided into housing lots. The name Hyattsville was being used for the settlement by 1859.

As a community inside the Capital Beltway, Hyattsville enjoys easy access to Washington and Baltimore by the West Hyattsville and Prince George's Plaza stops on the Metro subway system's Green Line or by MARC commuter rail trains on the Camden Line in the neighboring town of Riverdale Park.

The historic district of the city is home to a number of Victorian houses built in the late 1880s and Sears bungalows and Arts & Crafts houses built between the wars (late 1910s and early 1940s).

In 1992, a portion of the city was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hyattsville Historic District; the district was extended in late 2004.

The city was involved in a minor controversy in April 2006. In the episode airing April 27, the Geena Davis television series Commander in Chief depicted Hyattsville as having the highest murder rate in the United States; it also indirectly depicted the town as being an urban ghetto dominated by poor minorities. The city and Prince George's County were very upset at ABC. On May 1, ABC formally apologized to both the city and county.

[edit] Geography

Hyattsville is located at 38°57′25″N, 76°57′5″W (38.956910, -76.951270)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 km² (2.5 mi²). 6.3 km² (2.43 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.38%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

Note: The 2000 census figures for the city became obsolete in September 2004 when the city annexed the University Hills neighborhood of Prince George's County. The annexation added about 200 acres (0.8 km²) to the city. However, a judge overturned this annexation in December 2005, and as of January 2006, leaders in Hyattsville were still contemplating how to respond.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 14,733 people, 5,540 households, and 3,368 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,658.2/km² (6,885.9/mi²). There were 5,795 housing units at an average density of 1,045.5/km² (2,708.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.53% White, 41.03% African American, 0.50% Native American, 4.02% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 10.91% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.14% of the population.

There were 5,540 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,355, and the median income for a family was $51,625. Males had a median income of $33,163 versus $31,088 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,152. About 7.9% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

When first incorporated, Hyattsville was run by a Board of Commissioners; in May 1900, it switched to a mayor and common council system. Today, the city government consists of a popularly elected mayor and a ten-person city council. Each of the five wards in the city are represented by two popularly elected councilmen.

[edit] Presidents of the Board of Commissioners

Richard P. Evans (1886–87)
Francis H. Smith (1887–89)
Francis J. Gramlick (1889–90)
Jackson H. Ralston (1890–91)
Frederic A. Holden (1891–92)
Jackson H. Ralston (1892–93)
Francis H. Smith (1893–97)
Michael V. Tierney (1897–98)
L. K. Miller (1898–99)
Charles E. Postley (1899–1900)

[edit] Mayors

Michael V. Tierney (1900–02)
Charles A. Wells (1902–06)
Joseph R. Owens (1906–08)
John J. Fainter (acting mayor) (1908–09)
William P. Magruder (1909–11)
Roger Bellis (1911–12)
Harry W. Shepherd (1912–14)
Oswald A. Greagor (1914–15)
Edward Devlin (1915–16)
John G. Holden (1916–17)
William A. Brooks (1917–19)
Matthew F. Halloran (1919–20)
T. Hammond Welsh (1920–21)
J. Frank Rushe (1921–25)
Irvin Owings (1925–27)
Hillary T. Willis (1927–31)
Lemuel L. Gray (1931–33)
Hillary T. Willis (1933–38)
E. Murray Gover (1938–46)
R. T. Plitt (acting mayor) (1946–47)
Caesar L. Aiello (1947–51)
Jesse S. Baggett (1951–54)
Thomas E. Arnold (acting mayor) (1954–55)
George J. O'Hare (1955–59)
Joseph F. Lilly (1959–67)
Charles L. Armentrout (1967–75)
George C. Harrison (1975–76)
Jeremiah Harrington (1976–79)
Thomas L. Bass (1979–95)
Mary K. Prangley (1995–99)
Robert W. Armentrout (1999–2003)
William F. Gardiner (2003– )

The current Chief of Police is Colonel Douglas Holland, an advocate for the rights of the mentally and physically challenged and a strong proponent of Special Olympics Maryland.

[edit] Education

The city is served by Prince George's County Public Schools.

Hyattsville is zoned to the following elementary schools:

Hyattsville (Hyattsville)
Rosa L. Parks (Unincorporated Prince George's County, opening Fall 2006)
University Park (University Park)

The city is zoned to Hyattsville Middle School and Nicholas Orem Middle School (both are in the city).

Northwestern High School serves the city.

DeMatha Catholic High School is located in Hyattsville.

[edit] External links

City of Hyattsville
Route 1 Communities: Hyattsville
Maryland Municipal League: Hyattsville
Hyattsville Preservation Association
Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department
Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.95691° -76.95127°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
Hyattsville H4X - Community Podcast
My Hyattsville - Community Website & Wiki
The Hyattsville Blog - Hyattsville Blog
H.O.P.E. List-serve Hyattsville Organization for a Positive Environment (H.O.P.E.)

	State of Maryland
Topics	Cities \| Government \| History \| U.S. Senators and Representatives
Capital	Annapolis
Regions	Baltimore-Washington Metro Area \| Chesapeake \| Delaware Valley \| Eastern Shore \| Southern \| Western
Cities	Baltimore \| Bethesda \| Bowie \| College Park \| Columbia \| Cumberland \| Frederick \| Gaithersburg \| Germantown \| Greenbelt \| Hagerstown \| Laurel \| Rockville \| Salisbury \| Silver Spring \| Takoma Park \| Towson \| Waldorf
Counties	Allegany \| Anne Arundel \| Baltimore City \| Baltimore County \| Calvert \| Caroline \| Carroll \| Cecil \| Charles \| Dorchester \| Frederick \| Garrett \| Harford \| Howard \| Kent \| Montgomery \| Prince George's \| Queen Anne's \| St. Mary's \| Somerset \| Talbot \| Washington \| Wicomico \| Worcester