Page "La Plata, Maryland" Paragraph 2

The town was founded in 1888, after the river flowing into the previous county seat, Port Tobacco ( a few miles to the west ), silted up, ending that town's utility as a port.

At the same time, a new railroad line made La Plata attractive as a new county seat location.

The courthouse was built there after the Port Tobacco courthouse burned down ( arson suspected, but unproven ).

Christ Episcopal Church was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt in La Plata.

In 1940, the opening of the then " Potomac River Bridge " ( later renamed the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge ), which carries U. S. Route 301 over the Potomac River, provided a link to Virginia and brought many long-distance east coast thru-travelers through the town as an alternative to using urban U. S. 1 and, later, the often-congested Interstate 95.