Brief History of Crofton
Strategically located midway between Annapolis and the Washington Beltway, Crofton dominates the character of this region. Historically, it was agricultural, producing tobacco and diversified crops. Farming was the way of life here until the 1950s when suburban development, heralded by Crofton, began to transform the area. Today, the land south of Route 450 is still rural in character, a reminder of what the region once was.

The first settlers of the Crofton area adopted an agricultural lifestyle, growing tobacco as a cash crop. The Europeans arrived as landowners, tenant farmers, or indentured servants, while the Africans were primarily slaves and free blacks who owned property. With the increasing demand for tobacco, these early planters required some means by which they could transport their crops to market. Utilizing “rolling roads,” they rolled large barrels, filled with tobacco to designated tobacco ports located on the many waterways of the county. Crofton planters relied on the Little Patuxent, South and Severn Rivers as a vital link to European markets.

An intricate road system developed in the region connecting the various plantations with ports or crossings on the waterways. Others were built along ridges between rivers. The Crofton area, like much of Anne Arundel County, became the crossroads for a major network of roads that spanned the east coast and beyond.

Route 3 roughly follows the path of an important colonial roadway stretching from Philadelphia to Williamsburg. Established in the early 18th century, today's Route 424 was part of a north-south roadway known as Ridge Road.

Rail transportation made an impact on the area. The Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad, one of the earliest railroads in the United States, was completed in 1840, linking Annapolis with the Washington, DC branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Crofton residents used the Waterbury or Millersville stations. Another important railroad for the Crofton area, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad was established in 1868, connecting Baltimore and Washington. Today, it is the route of the Amtrak and MARC lines running through Odenton. These railroads enabled Crofton residents to make day-trips to Washington and Baltimore and facilitated access to new markets for local farmers.

The introduction of the automobile in the twentieth century virtually ended the agricultural way of life that had characterized Crofton since the 1600s. The State funded construction of Defense (Rt. 450) and Crain (Rt. 3) Highways through the area in the 1920s, stimulated the growth of suburban development.

The present community of Crofton was founded in the early 1960s on 1,272 acres owned by the Crofton Corporation, a division of the Crawford Corporation, named for its principal, an architect then practicing in the area. The community was centered around a golf course and surrounded by Crofton Parkway, a large loop road within the larger “triangle” formed by three major state routes: MD Routes 3 and 450, and Davidsonville Road (Route 424). That original community plan remains essentially intact nearly 35 years later, although considerable expansion has occurred outside the “Triangle,” mostly to the north where a number of major Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) have developed since the mid 1970s.

Development of the New Community
In January 1962 the area was mostly wooded with clearings for only a couple farms within the Triangle. Route 3 was already a divided highway, with extensive gravel operations stretching along the west side, along with several homes midway, and housing had developed continuously along the south side of Route 450, subdivided on long narrow lots. However, relatively few homes had been built along Route 424. Just north of its intersection with MD 3 there was a trailer park and elementary school next to the old community of Conway, with homes and businesses already developed in the median of the divided highway. In the original layout for Crofton, a 200 acre golf course was an integral part of the plan, but remains to this day privately owned. About 60 acres was set aside for public use, about half for two elementary school sites and the other half for parks and drainage ways,” presumably deeded to the community association. This did not include Lake Louise in Crofton’s “front yard”, which was deeded over to the Civic association in 1988 as part of a complex agreement with the private corporation which owns the golf course and other commercial property along Route 3. Another key element in the original plan was a Village Green, which provided for local office needs, restaurant and retail space in the heart of the community.

Location
Crofton is ideally located, meaning that is only 20 miles to Baltimore, 25 miles to Washington D.C. and 11 miles to Annapolis. Philadelphia is only 120 miles away. Crofton comprises approximately 5 square miles. The closest hospital to Crofton is the Crownsville Hospital Center only 7 miles away.

Transportation/Airports
Airports - Crofton is conveniently located not far from 2 major airports. Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) is located 11 miles north of Crofton along Interstate 97, while Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. is approximately 21 miles west of Crofton along Route 50. Dulles International Airport is a 3rd  airport located approximately 40 miles west of Crofton.

Check out these links for more information:

Weather in Crofton

Crofton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Crofton

Annapolis/Crofton news and information

Crofton Small Area Plan

Crofton Yellow pages

Crofton City Guide

CROFTON REAL ESTATE