Upper Marlboro, MD

Upper Marlboro is Prince George’s County’s seat, but the town began as a colonial port on the Western Branch of the Patuxent River. Settlers were here by about 1695, and the town was chartered in 1706 on land tied to estates including Darnall’s Chance. That house, built around 1742, now holds the Darnall’s Chance House Museum; the courthouse complex keeps the county-seat role visible. South of town, the Prince George’s Equestrian Center occupies the former Marlboro racetrack grounds and hosts the county fair. Upper Marlboro is a compact old county town with river, courthouse, house museum, and fairgrounds all in the same frame.