| Croom | |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Maryland#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Maryland |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 91.70 |
| Area Land Km2: | 88.56 |
| Area Water Km2: | 3.14 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 2720 |
| Population Density Km2: | 30.71 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 38.7525°N -76.7639°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes 20772 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 24-20925 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 597296 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 35.41 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 34.19 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 1.21 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 79.55 |
Croom is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Southern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,720.[2] Croom largely consists of former tobacco farms and forests converted to Washington bedroom subdivisions such as nearby Marlton. The main (Jug Bay Natural Area) part of Patuxent River Park is in Croom.
The community was patented in 1671 as Croome by Christopher Rousby; it was named for the manor of Croom, near Sledmere in the East Riding of Yorkshire.[3] In August 1814, British forces marched through Croom on their way to the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812.
St. Thomas' Episcopal Church dates to colonial times and was listed on the NRHP in 2000. Other buildings on the National Register of Historic Places located at Croom are the John W. Coffren House and Store, Bellefields, Brookefield of the Berrys, Mattaponi (John Bowie Jr. House), St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District, and Waverly.[4]
The Columbia Air Center was located in Croom from 1941-1956.[5] It was among the first African-American owned airports in the United States.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Croom has a total area of 91.7sqkm, of which 88.6sqkm is land and 3.1sqkm, or 3.43%, is water.[6]
| White alone (NH) | 1,321 | 1,089 | 50.21% | 40.04% | |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,068 | 1,126 | 40.59% | 41.40% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 16 | 11 | 0.61% | 0.40% | |
| Asian alone (NH) | 35 | 30 | 1.33% | 1.10% | |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 1 | 1 | 0.04% | 0.04% | |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 16 | 29 | 0.61% | 1.07% | |
| Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) | 64 | 160 | 2.43% | 5.88% | |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 110 | 274 | 4.18% | 10.07% | |
| Total | 2,631 | 2,720 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Prince George's County Police Department District 5 Station in Clinton CDP serves the community.[9]
Prince George's County Public Schools operates public schools serving the census-designated place.[10]
Elementary schools serving sections of Croom are Baden, Brandywine, Marlton, Mattaponi, and Patuxent.[11] Most areas are zoned to Gwynn Park Middle School, with some zoned to James Madison Middle School and Kettering Middle School.[12] Most areas are zoned to Frederick Douglass High School in Croom, with some areas to the north zoned to Dr. Henry A Wise, Jr. High School and some to the south zoned to Gwynn Park High School.[13]