[RP TownTalk] Riverdale vs. Riverdale Park

[Sarah Wayland]

A recent thread on the HOPE listserve alerted me to the fact that a lot of
people may not be aware of the reasons behind the (definitely confusing)
naming conventions for the geographic areas referred to as Riverdale and
Riverdale Park.

This map shows the problem.

http://www.zipmap.net/Maryland/Prince_George's_County/Riverdale_Park.htm

The incorporated Town of Riverdale Park (http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info/)
is the smaller outlined portion on the map labeled "Riverdale Park".

First, some history.

When our town was first incorporated in 1920, it was given the name "Town
of Riverdale" in honor of the land on which it was built - home of the
Riversdale Mansion, and including two adjacent neighborhoods: Riverdale
Park and West Riverdale. Our town operated under that name from 1920 -
1998.

At some point (probably in the 1960s), the US Post Office declared that the
name "Riverdale" should apply to a much larger area of Prince George's
County that had the zipcode 20737 (which you can also see on the map). This
area included both the incorporated Town of Riverdale, and unincorporated
areas of the county in the 20737 zipcode.

The Town of Riverdale had its own police force, its own public works
department, and an elected mayor and council. But people found it very
difficult to understand why the police and public works departments served
only a part of the area labeled "Riverdale".

To help alleviate the confusion, in 1998 the town's residents voted to
change the name of the incorporated town to the Town of Riverdale Park.

Riverdale Park Station, which includes the Whole Foods, is located inside
the boundaries of the Town of Riverdale Park. I am grateful when people
give our town the recognition it deserves by calling it by its name.

And yeah - it's confusing. I blame the Post Office. .

-Sarah
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