Scaggsville, Maryland

Scaggsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is situated near the southeastern tip of Howard County, between Laurel and Fulton. The town mainly consists of residences, with some commercial establishments. Scaggsville generally falls within ZIP code 20723, assigned to Laurel, though the town formerly had its own post office.

Scaggsville, Maryland
Census-designated place
Scaggsville Show map of Maryland Scaggsville Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°8′33″N 76°53′24″W
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Howard
Area [1]
• Total	5.39 sq mi (13.95 km2)
• Land	5.04 sq mi (13.04 km2)
• Water	0.35 sq mi (0.91 km2)
Elevation [2]	367 ft (112 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,217
• Density	1,830.59/sq mi (706.76/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	20723
Area codes	240, 301
FIPS code	24-70525
GNIS feature ID	2583685[2]

At the 2000 census the Scaggsville area was counted as part of the North Laurel census-designated place.

History

Highridge neighborhood

The town is named for the Scaggs family, who settled 700 acres (2.8 km²) of farmland in the 1830s and continue to live in the region. The area also used the name "Hells Corner" as a postal address in Civil War times.^[3][4] The historic path running through town was shown on maps as far back as 1795. This path is now named Lime Kiln Road, Scaggsville Road, and Whiskey Bottom Road.^[5] In the 19th century, Scaggsville was a stagecoach stop on the trip from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. Stagecoaches would ford the Patuxent River until a wooden bridge was built in 1859, which washed out in an 1868 flood.^[6] Three additional bridges washed out by 1883 before a steel truss bridge was built.^[7] In 1941, the Maryland Gazette reported that the town consisted of 15 households. Today, it has grown to a suburban community made up of several neighborhoods.

Geography

Scaggsville is located in southern Howard County, bordered by Fulton to the west, Columbia to the north, North Laurel to the southeast, West Laurel in Prince George's County to the south, and Burtonsville in Montgomery County to the southwest. The Patuxent River forms the southern edge of the Scaggsville CDP, as well as the Howard County line. U.S. Route 29 follows the western edge of the CDP, leading north 5 miles (8 km) to Columbia and south 19 miles (31 km) to downtown Washington, D.C. Interstate 95 forms the eastern edge of the CDP, leading northeast 18 miles (29 km) to downtown Baltimore and southwest 9 miles (14 km) to Washington's Beltway. Maryland Route 216 runs east–west through the center of Scaggsville, connecting US 29 and I-95, and leads 4 miles (6 km) southeast to Laurel.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	8,548		—
2020	9,217		7.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 2010[9] 2020[10]

Scaggsville first appeared as census designated place in the 2010 U.S. Census carved out of the North Laurel CDP although it was incorrectly defined,^[9] showing a population of 24,333.^[11] The corrected counts for Scaggsville CDP for 2010 are 8,548 population, 2,838 housing units, a land area of 13,514,192 square meters (5.218 square miles), and a water area of 913,012 square meters (0.353 square miles).^[9] Specific racial data is not available for the area in 2010.

2020 Census

Scaggsville CDP, Maryland – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010[12]	Pop 2020[10]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	x	5,296	x	57.46%
Black or African American alone (NH)	x	1,035	x	11.23%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	x	3	x	0.03%
Asian alone (NH)	x	1,838	x	19.94%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x	1	x	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	x	78	x	0.85%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x	452	x	4.90%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	x	514	x	5.58%
Total	x	9,217	x	100.00%

Name change efforts

Some residents have advocated changing the name of Scaggsville to Rocky Gorge, since the community borders the Rocky Gorge Reservoir (also known as the T. Howard Duckett Reservoir) on the Patuxent River. Efforts to change the name, however, have been unsuccessful.^[13]

See also

• Partnership (Fulton, Maryland) – historic building also known as the "Moore House" (owned by Mrs. George Skaggs until 1958)
• Souder House – Scaggsville corner store operated over 100 years.