Population: 19,960* Settled: Circa 1800 Incorporated: 1870 Office Market: ? msf Total Land Area: ? sq mi Distance From DC: 23 miles Government: Council / Manager

Located in the extreme north of Prince George's County near its confluence with Montgomery, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, Laurel marks the unofficial mid-point between Washington, DC and Baltimore. Originally known as "Laurel Factory", the towns primary industry for decades was small mills. Nowadays it’s principally a bedroom community, though there is a small office and retail market.

Downtown Laurel is a lesson in growth economics of the Nineteenth Century. In the days before highways railroad companies would speculate towns along their routes. They would build a station and perpendicular to it a Main Street, from which a town would grow. Walking in Laurel isn’t exactly like walking in a town of 1880. It’s not a particularly impressive historic district and there’s a spattering of modern buildings. Nevertheless, the roots of this town are clear.