Sugarland Hundred History

By Jeff Pauley

In Colonial Maryland, the term "hundred" was used to describe administrative divisions of land. They were created once the area had a population of about one hundred taxable persons. Hundreds were used to collect taxes and appoint government officials.

By the mid-1700s, though, hundreds had been established throughout Prince George's County. The large size of the settled area was beginning to be unwieldy, so Frederick County was established on 10 December 1748 out of the land northwest of the current Montgomery-Prince George's boundary, including all of present-day Montgomery County and Washington County.

Although Frederick County was sparsely populated when it was established, its population grew rapidly. By the time of the American Revolution, its large size was again causing administrative difficulties, as much of the population was extremely far from the county seat in Frederick. The area that was to become Sugarland Hundred was then part of Monocacy Hundred.

Montgomery County was not established until Maryland declared independence in 1776. The land that is now Montgomery County had virtually no European colonists when Prince George's County was established in 1696. It, along with Frederick County, a part of Carroll County, and all of Western Maryland, was initially included in Prince George's County. [https://ggwash.org/view/68463/historic-place-names-in-montgomery-county]

At a convention to draw up a new Maryland constitution in fall 1776, the delegates voted to divide Frederick County into thirds, establishing Montgomery County with its current borders (minus the portion of Takoma Park transferred from Prince George's County in 1997 and plus the portion of the county now within the District of Columbia).

The area that was to become Sugar Land or Sugarland  Hundred was initially part of the Monocacy Hundred of what was then Prince George’s County. When Montgomery County was formed from Frederick County in 1776, Sugarland Hundred was established in the Northwest corner of the county, generally what is now the Poolesville area. Today, there is a Sugarland Road that runs south, then west off of Darnestown Road (MD-28) near where it intersects with MD-107 to where it ends at Hughes Road. This intersecting area is called Dawsonville.

In 1800, in addition to Maryland's cessation of parts of Prince George's and Montgomery Counties to form the District of Columbia, the hundreds that had existed for over a century were abolished and replaced with election districts. These seem to have been administrative divisions more akin to modern-day precincts, as elected offices were selected at large for the county as a whole. The area that was the Sugarland Hundred is very similar to the present-day Poolesville election district.

Summary:
Over the years, the land that encompassed Sugarland Hundred was part of:
1696 – Prince George’s County was formed and included all lands west, which were largely uninhabited
1728 – Included in the newly created Monocacy Hundred, which also covered all of present-day Frederick County and more
1741 – included in the newly created Seneca Hundred
1748 – Frederick County was formed, which included all of present-day Montgomery and Washington Counties
1776  – Montgomery County formed

• Sugarland Hundred and Sugar Loaf Hundred formed from Seneca Hundred