Crofton is a census-designated place and planned community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located west of the state capital Annapolis, south of Baltimore, and east-northeast of Washington, D.C. The community was established in 1964 and as of the 2020 census, it had a population of 29,136.

History

Development

thumb|Waugh Chapel Towne Center in 2015

In 1963, after the Crawford Corporation accumulated over of land, it announced that it would build a new community called Crofton. This new town and planned community was founded at the same time as Reston, Virginia (April 17, 1964) and Columbia, Maryland (1967). Crofton would be anchored by a community golf course, which later became the Crofton Country Club. Crofton was officially founded in the fall of 1964. The company considered picking an English name for the new town that "sounds well and implies that this is a pleasant place to live." It ended up picking the name "Crofton", named after a small township in Cumberland County, England. (Crofton, England was originally called Croft-town, derived from the word "Croft", as the town standing upon the Crofts.) Crofton, Maryland was founded as a community for racial exclusion.

Crofton pond snakehead fish incident

thumb|right|[[Northern snakehead]]

Crofton was in the national news in late June and early July 2002 after a fish called the northern snakehead was discovered in a local pond. The infestation was found in water behind the Crofton post office and the adjacent shopping center, In order to ensure that the fish were eliminated, in September 2002 the main pond and two nearby ponds were dosed heavily with rotenone Six adult snakeheads and more than one thousand juvenile fish were found and destroyed. One comparison case was the mute swan,

Education

Schools

Crofton contains a number of public schools, administered by the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system:

  • Crofton Elementary School, grades K-5
  • Crofton Meadows Elementary School, grades K-5
  • Crofton Woods Elementary School, grades K-5
  • Nantucket Elementary School, grades K-5
  • Millersville Elementary School, Millersville, Maryland, grades K-5 (serves Crofton area students living along St. Stephens Church Road between Johns Hopkins Road and Route 3)

For grades 6–8, students from all four of these elementary schools attend Crofton Middle School in adjacent Gambrills, Maryland, with the exception of a portion of Nantucket Elementary School students who live along Riedel Road between Route 3 and Nantucket Drive. These students will attend Arundel Middle School

Students residing in communities along St Stephens Church Road between Johns Hopkins Road and Route 3 attend Old Mill Middle School North.

Older students from Crofton attend one of three high schools:

- Crofton High School, grades 9-12, also in adjacent Gambrills, Maryland.. Serves the vast majority of students living in the Crofton area.

- Arundel High School grades 9-12, also in adjacent Gambrills, Maryland. Will serve Crofton area students who reside in communities along Riedel Road between Nantucket Drive and Route 3 beginning in the 2026-2027 school year

- Severn Run High School grades 9-12, located in Severn, Maryland. Serves Crofton area students living along St. Stephens Church Road between Johns Hopkins Road and Route 3.

In response to overcrowding caused by continuing development in Bowie, the historical nemesis of Crofton and BRAC realignments, a redistricting proposal was approved for Crofton schools in 2013 and construction began in late 2018 on Crofton High School. A redistricting committee was formed in late 2018. In April 2019, the school board adopted a redistricting plan under which all students from the four local elementary schools will attend the new high school. Kathryn Feuerherd was appointed principal in May 2019.

  • Crofton Children's Centre
  • Crofton Day School
  • Crofton Nursery School
  • Creative Garden Nursery School and Kindergarten

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Crofton had a population of 29,641. The median age was 37.1 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.9 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 10,543 households in Crofton, of which 42.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 56.0% were married-couple households, 13.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. an increase of 36%. The median age remained at 35 years. Of the 10,203 housing units, most were households of families (71.5%) with an average household size of 2.67 people.

Census data show an increase in the percentage of minorities living in Crofton. In 2000, the racial makeup of the community was 90.21% White, 5.13% African American, 0.23% Native American, 2.33% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races; Latino was 2.48% of the population. In the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the community was 79.8% White (−10.4%), 10.3% Black (+5.2%), 4.7% Latino (+2.2%), 3.3% two or more races (+1.9%), 4.9% Asian (+2.6%), .1% Native American (+.1%), and 1.4% "some other race".

|-

|1970

|4,478

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|1990

|12,781

|-

|2000

|20,091

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the area was $93,198, and the median income for a family was $101,644. Males had a median income of $56,819 versus $41,229 for females. The per capita income for the area was $33,518. About 2.0% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Income has risen since then. Based on the American Community Survey for 2008–2012, median incomes in the area were $104,279 for households and $120,316 for families. The per capita income for the area was $43,452. The Crofton SCBD staff includes a Town Manager, Non Governmental Figure Head Mayor Tip Conquick, Police, Recreation Coordinator, Maintenance Technician, A Director to the Office of the Mayor and administrative staff that provide for grounds and park maintenance, public safety, and community recreation programs and events. Town Hall is sometimes located in the older section of Crofton, at the corner of Crofton Parkway and Duke of Kent Drive. The structure was built as the sales center for the original Crawford development; it was donated to the community in 1973. Newer sections of Crofton area are not incorporated and include several HOAs.

Crime and law enforcement

The Crofton Special Community Benefit District is policed by the Crofton Police Department, which was founded in 1969. The department operates under the Anne Arundel County Charter, aided by the Anne Arundel County Police Department and Sheriff's Office as directed by authority.

Landmarks

  • Katcef Archeological Site – archaeological site with native camp sites ranging from the Paleo-Indian Clovis period to the late Woodland period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
  • White's Hall – birthplace of Johns Hopkins, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose greatest legacy is the funding of Johns Hopkins University. Gerrard Hopkins came to America from England, settling in Crofton in 1660. The Hopkins family was in the Crofton area for 270 years and accumulated more than of land. The historic house – built in the late 1700s – still exists near the corner of Riedel Road and Johns Hopkins Road. It is privately owned but empty.

Notable people

  • Spiro Agnew – Following his resignation as Vice President of the United States, Agnew ran Pathlite, Inc., a consulting firm in Crofton.
  • Kyle Beckerman – Major League Soccer player for Real Salt Lake and 2014 World Cup star of the U.S. Team. Raised in Crofton and attended Crofton Woods Elementary School, Crofton Middle School, and DeMatha High School (in Hyattsville, MD) and Arundel High School in Gambrills, MD.
  • Bill Belichick – head coach of the New England Patriots was raised in Crofton and went to Annapolis High
  • Peter Bondra – hockey player
  • Johns Hopkins – businessman involved in the building of the B&O Railroad, founded Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital
  • Chris Kubasik – former president and Chief Operating Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation, now living in Potomac, MD, was raised in Crofton and went to Arundel High School
  • Tom McMillen – former Democratic congressman, Rhodes Scholar, and pro basketball player.
  • Gheorghe Mureșan – former pro basketball player for the Washington Bullets (1993–1998), holds the record as being the tallest man ever to play in the NBA.
  • Edward Snowden – Leaked sensitive government documents regarding mass surveillance. Attended Crofton Woods Elementary School, Crofton Middle School, and Arundel High School for years.

References

Sources

  • Browne, Joseph L., From Sotweed to Suburbia: A History of the Crofton, Maryland Area, 40th Anniversary version, 1660–1960. Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., published by the Crofton Rotary to fund the restoration of Linthicum Walks.
  • "Crofton, Maryland", at City-Data.com