Prince George's County is a place to learn about farming and Maryland agriculture and to explore the history of space travel, especially at the visitor center at Goddard Space Flight Center, the hub of NASA's tracking operations. You can also visit the Accokeek Foundation's colonial tobacco plantation and the National Colonial Farm Museum. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel conducts important research on endangered species and also has fishing, hunting, bird watching and educational programs. Other places to enjoy the outdoors include Oxon Hill Children's Farm, Watkins Regional Park, Prince George's Equestrian Center and the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary in Upper Marlboro, a good place to see wild geese. Maryland's largest amusement park, Six Flags America, offers many thrills with exciting rollercoasters and water rides.
Prince George's County was founded in 1696 and named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of England's Princess Anne. The county seat is Upper Marlboro, which was named for the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, an ancestor of Winston Churchill. Darnall's Chance in Upper Marlboro is believed to be the birthplace of Daniel Carroll, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, and his brother, John Carroll, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in America.
Another famous - or infamous - person lived in Prince George's
County, too. The Surratt Museum in Clinton is the former home of Mary Surratt.
Charged with conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln, she was the first
woman hanged by the federal government.
Prince George's County
