Odenton ( ) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, United States, located approximately 10–20 minutes from the state capital, Annapolis. The population was 37,132 at the 2010 census, up from 20,534 at the 2000 census. The town's population growth rate of 80.8% between 2000 and 2010 was the greatest of any town in western Anne Arundel County. Odenton is located west of Annapolis, south of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and northeast of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Tim Lemke
"Odenton's Population Jumps 17K According to Census"
''Odenton Patch'', February 16, 2011. "The western portion of Anne Arundel County saw significant growth, paced by a more than 80 percent jump in residents in Odenton." Accessed February 17, 2012. In recent years, Odenton has become the fastest-growing city in the county with 2010 census numbers reporting 42% growth. This is because of its proximity to

Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...

, which contains

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

headquarters, US Cyber Command (established 2009), and the

Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA pro ...

(moved to Fort Meade in 2011). Odenton's growth can also be attributed to it being centrally located between Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The development has been fueled by the construction of the massive Piney Orchard development, progress in the ongoing development of Odenton Town Center, and construction of the NSA East Campus Integration Program scheduled for completion in 2028.

Etymology

The town is named after former

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Oden Bowie Oden Bowie (November 10, 1826December 4, 1894), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 34th Governor of the State of Maryland in the United States from 1869 to 1872. Childhood He was born in 1826 at Fairview Plantation in Coll ...

. It is bordered by Gambrills to the east,

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

to the north,

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...

to the west, and Crofton to the south. It is located at the intersection of Maryland routes 170 and

175 Year 175 ( CLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 928 '' Ab urbe condi ...

and is bordered by Route 32 to the north. The zipcode is 21113.

History

In 1840, the steam-powered

Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad The Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, later the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad, once provided rail service to Annapolis, Maryland, and was one of the earliest railroads in the U.S. It later merged into the Washington, Baltimore and ...

(A&ER) was built across a sparsely settled farming community that would later become Odenton. At the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Union soldiers guarded this railroad line because it was the only link between the North and the nation's capital. Rail traffic through

had been disrupted by southern sympathizers, so supplies, mail and soldiers flowed through Annapolis and west Anne Arundel County to

. The town of Odenton, nicknamed "The Town a Railroad Built" by Catherine L. O'Malley, was formed in 1868 with the construction of the Baltimore Potomac (B&P) Railroad connecting Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Where the B&P crossed the A&ER, a train station and telegraph office were constructed and named for Oden Bowie, president of the B&P and former governor of Maryland. Train service to the station began on July 2, 1872. The rail junction (today's

MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

station) at Odenton Road, already a busy thoroughfare from Annapolis to

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, became the site of Odenton's first commercial center. The Watts and Murray general stores served railroad workers and farmers, and in 1871 a post office was established. A town grew near the junction, houses were built for railroad workers, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church was dedicated in 1891 and a grade school opened in 1892. Small villages developed around these various railroad lines, but none amounted to more than a cluster of shops and homes around a train station and post office. The 1878'' Maryland Directory'' listed the following towns: Conaway, Odenton, Patuxent, Sappington, and Woodwardville. Odenton was the largest, with a population of 100, a church, a school and two stores. In nearby Woodwardville, where the B&P crossed the Little Patuxent River, A. G. Woodward was the postmaster and operated a general merchandise store in a village of 50 people. Two churches and a school served that community. Land was worth from $5 and $30 per acre, producing wheat, corn and tobacco. Canneries, primarily for tomatoes, were built in many locations in Anne Arundel County, including Odenton and Woodwardville. The George M. Murray Canning House, built in the late 19th century on Odenton Road (behind present day 1380 and 1382 Odenton Road) was a successful operation into the early 1900s. Shortly after 1900, another company built an electric interurban railroad parallel to the B&P and also electrified the former A&ER. Train service on these lines began in 1908. The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railroad provided public transportation to central Maryland. In 1914, the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

purchased the Hammond Manor Farm in neighboring Gambrills for the construction of a dairy following the 1910

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

outbreak at the Academy. The Academy operated the dairy until 1998. Until 2005 it was the home of

Dean Foods Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintained plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods had 66 manufacturing faciliti ...

' Horizon Organic dairy. The farm is currently the home of Maryland Sunrise Farm. In 1917, at the advent of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Odenton's growth was spurred by the establishment of

. The

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

acquired of land west of Odenton to develop a training camp, displacing numerous farmers, merchants and public and private enterprises, many of whom moved east to nearby Odenton. The Epiphany Chapel and Church House at Fort Meade was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2001. This growth accelerated in the 1950s with the establishment of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...

on the fort and Friendship International Airport (now the

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...

) a few miles to the north. Odenton still maintains its railroad history through the Dennis F. Sullivan Maintenance Facility, operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

, which maintains track, bridges and other structures on the Amtrak/MARC line between Baltimore and Washington. All of this, as well as the suburban expansion of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., have transformed Odenton from a farmland region to a business, residential and industrial center in Anne Arundel County.

Geography

Odenton is located at (39.071276, −76.699756). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Sports

Washington Capitals Piney Orchard Ice Arena

Prior to their relocation to the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

in 2006, the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

ice hockey team practiced at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena.

Maryland Black Bears Piney Orchard Ice Arena

After its renovation in 2017, Piney Orchard Ice Arena now hosts the

Maryland Black Bears The Maryland Black Bears are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's East Division. The Black Bears play their home games in the Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton, Maryland. Founded in 2018, the Black Bears are ...

of the North American Hockey League. Tickets for the games are available online and at the box office. The team sells merchandise such as jerseys, hats, cloths and other items.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 20,534 people, 7,594 households, and 5,551 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,653.3 people per square mile (638.3/km²). There were 7,900 housing units at an average density of 636.1 per square mile (245.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 80.15%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 12.76%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.37% Native American, 3.06% Asian, 0.08%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.98% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.61% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.77% of the population. As of 2010 the racial makeup of the CDP was 65.28% White, 23.02% African American, 0.4% Native American,

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States, U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the Americans, Ame ...

Quick Fact
Odenton CDP, Maryland
, accessed February 17, 2012. 5.48% Asian/Pacific Islander American, 0.1%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

or Pacific Islander and 4.1%

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

. 5.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,594 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.13. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 38.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $65,563, and the median income for a family was $69,098 (these figures had risen to $85,137 and $96,641 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $45,965 versus $32,659 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $26,124. About 1.6% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. In 2020, Odenton had a population of 41,846, an increase of 12.70% from the 2010 census. In 2019, the median household income for Odenton overall was $99,601, but the median household income for families was $132,787., which suggests that Odenton has a large percentage of childless singles relative to other nearby suburban areas. In 2019, the racial composition of Odenton was 62.49% white, 22.73% Black or African American, 6.53% Asian, 6.50% Two or more races, 1.65% other race, 0.08% Native American, and 0.02% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. 85.11% of Odenton residents only speak English, 6.2% speak Spanish, 4% speak an Asian or Pacific Islander language, 3.4% speak other Indo-European languages, and 1.5% speak other languages.

Education

Public schools

Children in Odenton are served by the following public schools in the

Anne Arundel County Public Schools Anne Arundel County Public Schools is the public school district serving Anne Arundel County, Maryland. With over 80,000 students, the AACPS school system is the 4th largest in Maryland and the 39th largest in the United States. The district has o ...

district:

Elementary schools

* Crofton Woods Elementary School (Crofton) * Four Seasons Elementary School (Gambrills) * Odenton Elementary School * Piney Orchard Elementary School * Seven Oaks Elementary School * Waugh Chapel Elementary School

Middle schools

* Arundel Middle School * Crofton Middle School (Gambrills) * MacArthur Middle School (Ft. Meade)

High schools

* Arundel High School (Gambrills) * Crofton High School (Gambrills) *

Meade High School Meade Senior High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located at Fort Meade, Maryland, United States and is administered by Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Since its opening in 1977, the school has been accredited by the ...

(Fort Meade)

Private schools

* Odenton Christian School * Annapolis Area Christian School near Severn, off of Burns Crossing Rd. * School of the Incarnation (SOTI)

Politics

Odenton is represented in the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

by legislators in Districts 21, 32 and 33. District 21 is primarily in

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

. District 32 also includes Severn, Linthicum, Heights, and Glen Burnie. District 33 also includes Severna Park, Crownsville and Crofton. Odenton is represented in District 4 of the Anne Arundel County Council.

Notable natives

* Jackson Dean, country music singer *

Cam Whitmore Cameron Whitmore (born July 8, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball, Villanova Wildcats. ...

, basketball player

Neighborhoods of Odenton

* Academy Yard * Breezewood * Chapelgate * Chapel Grove * Colony Ridge * Crawfords Ridge * Four Seasons * Kings Ransom * Kings Heights * Lions Gate * Maple Ridge * Odenton Gardens * Peach Tree * Piney Orchard * The Groves * Harvest Run * Seven Oaks * Shelter Cove *Two Rivers

References

External links

Odenton Small Area Plan Community History
{{authority control 1868 establishments in Maryland Census-designated places in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Census-designated places in Maryland Populated places established in 1868