Chillum, Maryland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chillum, Maryland
Census-designated place
Location of Chillum, Maryland
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Prince George's
Area
• Total	3.40 sq mi (8.81 km2)
• Land	3.37 sq mi (8.73 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)
Elevation	148 ft (45 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	36,039
• Density	10,687.72/sq mi (4,126.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	20782, 20783, and 20912
Area code(s)	301, 240
FIPS code	24-16875
GNIS feature ID	0597239

Chillum is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, bordering Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County.

In addition to being its own unincorporated neighborhood, Chillum is also a census-designated place covering a larger area than the Chillum neighborhood. As of the 2010 census, the Chillum CDP included Chillum, as well as the adjacent unincorporated communities of Avondale, Carole Highlands, Green Meadows, and Lewisdale. The population was 36,039 at the 2020 census.

Chillum, the neighborhood, is contained between the Northwest Branch Anacostia River to the east, East West Highway (MD 410) and the Sligo Creek River to the north, New Hampshire Avenue (MD 650) to the west, and Eastern Avenue NE to the south. Chillum borders the adjacent communities of Avondale, Green Meadows, and Carole Highlands in Prince George's County as well as the city of Takoma Park in Montgomery County, and the Riggs Park (also known as, "Lamond Riggs"), Queens Chapel, and North Michigan Park neighborhoods of Northeast Washington D.C.

Geography

Chillum is located at 38°58′6″N 76°58′45″W / 38.96833°N 76.97917°W / 38.96833; -76.97917 (38.968210, −76.979046).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.9 km²), of which 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.94%, is water.

History

Chillum takes its name from "Chillum Castle Manor," the 4,443-acre (17.98 km²) land patent established in 1763, by William Dudley Digges. It included lands in the present-day District of Columbia and in Prince George's County, and was composed of previously established land patents such as Henrietta Maria, Widows Purchase, Yarrow and Yarrow Head. Chillum Castle Manor was named after Chilham Castle, the old home of Sir Dudley Digges, an ancestor of William Dudley Digges, in Kent, England.

The manor house for the Henrietta Maria parcel was named Green Hill. It was home to William Dudley Digges and was the place where Pierre L'Enfant, designer of nearby Washington, D.C., died in destitution in 1825. He remained buried at the Green Hill property until being re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 1909. The Green Hill plantation was subsequently purchased by George Washington Riggs, who built the present Green Hill historic home in 1868.

Since this area was not served by public transportation, such as a streetcar, Chillum remained rural in character into the 1930s. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the area of Chillum that is close to the District of Columbia border was subdivided into lots. Developers promoted the area’s convenient access into the city as well as its water, gas, and electricity supply. The first platted developments in the late 1930s included Chillum Gardens and Oakdale Terrace. The developers of these communities sold the lots but left the construction of houses to the lot owners. Consequently, the communities were slow to develop. In contrast, the developer-built Green Meadows and Brookdale Manor were platted in the early 1940s and completed by 1942. Other developer-built communities begun in the 1940s include Chillumgate (1946) and Michigan Hills Park (1940s). Several subdivisions were constructed along Riggs Road, Sargent Road, and Sligo Creek Park in the 1950s, including Sargent Knolls (1950), Bel Air Estates (1955), Parkland (1955), Carrington (1957), and Miller Estates (mid-1950s-early 1960s). The street pattern of these communities are typical of their period. They have a grid pattern of streets broken by a few curvilinear roadways and cul-de-sacs. In addition to single-family residences, two apartment communities were constructed in 1949. The Chillum Heights Apartments and Ager Terrace Apartments consist of three story brick structures containing a combined total of 1,147 units. Larger-scale apartment complexes and mid-rise structures were constructed in the 1960s.

Commercial activity in the Chillum area is concentrated in shopping centers located at the intersections of the principal roadways. Two of the shopping centers, Riggs Plaza Shopping Center (1960s) and the Riggs-Sargent Shopping Center (1970s), contain supermarkets, drug stores and other retail outlets. Other establishments such as gas stations and restaurants are scattered throughout the community.

Historic sites

The following is a list of historic sites in Chillum identified by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission:

Demographics

2020 census

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 can be of any race.

Education

Lewisdale Elementary School

Rosa L. Parks Elementary School

The Chillum CDP is served by public schools that are part of the Prince George's County Public Schools System.

Elementary schools within the Chillum CDP include Chillum Elementary School, Cesar Chavez, Lewisdale, Rosa Parks, and Ridgecrest. Chavez was originally known as Parkway Elementary School. The school administration decided to rename the school after they found a liquor store had a similar name. According to principal Adela Acosta, the community chose Chavez since he was Hispanic/Latino as was most of the school's students. The parent-teacher organization chose Chavez, the school held a public hearing on the matter on January 10, 2000, and the county board approved the name change on March 30, 2000; it was effective fall 2000.

Carole Highlands Elementary School has a Takoma Park postal address but is within the 2010-defined Langley Park CDP boundaries. As of the 1990 US Census and the 2000 US Census, Carole Highlands Elementary, as well as all of the Langley Park CDP areas south of Road 193, was in the Chillum CDP. Carole Highlands Elementary serves parts of the current Chillum CDP.

Nicholas Orem Middle School in Hyattsville and Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi CDP serve sections of the CDP. Northwestern High School in Hyattsville and High Point High School in Beltsville CDP serve sections of the CDP.

In addition to these public schools, Chillum is also served by four private schools; the St. John's De La Salle School, Children's Guild School, Parkway School, and the George E. Peters Adventist School.

Transportation

Several highways/ major intersections pass through the neighborhood, such as East West Highway (MD 410), New Hampshire Avenue (MD 650), Riggs Road (MD 212), Sargent Road (MD 211), Chillum Road (MD 501), and Eastern Avenue NE.

Though Chillum residents do not have direct access to the Washington Metro, there are several stations located within very close proximity to area, including the Fort Totten Metro Station in Washington D.C. which is served by the Red, Yellow and Green lines, and most of the bus routes that operate in the area ferry passengers to this station. The Prince George's Plaza Metro Station is located just outside Chillum's boundaries in Hyattsville and is served by the Green and Yellow lines of the Washington Metro.

Notable people

• Jonathan Banks, actor

See also

In Spanish: Chillum (Maryland) para niños