History

The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845. He thought the proximity to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks and the telegraph lines made the area a good site for a town, and the surrounding farmlands were soon subdivided into housing lots. The name Hyattsville was being used for the settlement by 1859.As a community inside the Capital Beltway, Hyattsville enjoys easy access to Washington and Baltimore by the West Hyattsville and Prince George's Plaza stops on the Metro subway system's Green Line.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,733 people, 5,540 households, and 3,368 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,885.9 people per square mile (2,658.2/km²). There were 5,795 housing units at an average density of 2,708.5/sq mi (1,045.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.53% White, 41.03% African American, 0.50% Native American, 4.02% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 10.91% from other races, and 3.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.14% of the population.

Special Info

The historic district of the city is home to a number of Victorian houses built in the late 1880s and Sears bungalows and Arts & Crafts houses built between the wars (late 1910s and early 1940s). In 1982, a portion of the city was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hyattsville Historic District; the district was extended in late 2004.

The city was involved in a minor controversy in April 2006. In the episode airing April 27, the Geena Davis television series Commander in Chief depicted Hyattsville as having the highest murder rate in the United States; it also indirectly depicted the town as being an urban ghetto dominated by poor minorities. The city and Prince George's County were very upset at ABC. On May 1, ABC formally apologized to both the city and county.

The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is headquartered in Hyattsville.

Courtesy: http://www.wikipedia.org/