Charles County Revisited

Charles County was chartered in 1658 and marked its 350th anniversary in 2008. In its lifespan, it has transformed itself from an agriculturally based English colony to an explosive commercial bedroom community for Washington, D.C. In this second volume on Charles County, the author reveals just how that happened. Most of the images in this book focus on the explosive growth the county experienced from the 1940s to 1970s. They also provide a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people doing everyday things. An eye-opening chapter about the county's legalized gambling era will recall the neon icons that signaled entrepreneurial risk takers, gamblers, and service industries to enter, and forever change, southern Maryland's plantation lifestyle. A chapter on law enforcement and the judicial system will solicit an appreciation of one of the earliest institutions in the county. Good Samaritans are properly recognized for their noble works in chapters on infrastructure and service clubs.

Jacqueline Zilliox, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, moved to Charles County in 1968. She is a semiretired hairdresser, a published author, a freelance writer for southern Maryland's This Is Living magazine, and a contributor to the Charles County Historical Society's newsletter.