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Hyattsville is a city located in Prince George's County, Maryland.

History

The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt, who purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845. Hyatt 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. By 1859, the name Hyattsville was being used for the settlement.

Nowadays, as a community literally Inside the Beltway, Hyattsville still enjoys easy access to Washington and Baltimore via the West Hyattsville and Prince George's Plaza stops on the Metro subway system's Green Line or via MARC commuter rail trains on the Camden Line in the neighboring town of Riverdale Park.

Hyattsville was incorporated by the Maryland state legislature on April 7, 1886, and the first meeting of the town commissioners was held on May 10 of that same year. In May 1900, Hyattsville changed forms of government to a mayor and common council system. On March 23, 1943, the town was officially declared a city by the Maryland General Assembly.

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, and as of 2004, the city was actively working to extend the area of the city included in the historic district.

Geography

Hyattsville is located at 38°57'25" North, 76°57'5" West (38.956910, -76.951270).

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 is water. The total area is 1.38% water.

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.

As of the census of 2000, there are 14,733 people, 5,540 households, and 3,368 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,658.2/km² (6,885.9/mi²). There are 5,795 housing units at an average density of 1,045.5/km² (2,708.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 18.14% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $45,355, and the median income for a family is $51,625. Males have a median income of $33,163 versus $31,088 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,152. 10.8% of the population and 7.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 14.4% are under the age of 18 and 8.4% are 65 or older.

Government

When first incorporated, Hyattsville was run by a Board of Commissioners; in May 1990, 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.

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)

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– )

External Links

• City of Hyattsville
• Route 1 Communities: Hyattsville
• Maryland Municipal League: Hyattsville
• Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department

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