A History of St. Charles, Maryland - Portrait of a New Town

'A History of St. Charles, Maryland: Portrait of a New Town' is a 140-page account of an often perilous journey in creation of a town from the ground up. Building upon the history of the Southern Maryland and Charles County, the early years (1968 - 1990) of planning and development of St. Charles, Maryland established the vision, foundation, and framework that launched the new town on its successful path and later would assure its prosperity. Above all other considerations, success was largely due to the tenacity, resourcefulness, and personality of the developer, James J. Wilson, captured by Author William K. Klingaman. Klingaman conducted a series of oral-history interviews in the mid-1980's with Wilson and a cast of personalities from HUD, FHA, state and local government officials, local businesspersons, and members of the development team, and had unrestricted access to the files of HUD and the developer. These experiences and revelations can well serve as a textbook for developers, builders, and local authorities to consider when facing a panoply of obstacles, including dealing with squabbling government agencies, obtaining the financial resources needed to stay afloat, struggling to maintain the vision in changing markets, and complying with pyramiding new government regulations...and above all, a sense of the leadership it takes to keep propelling the vision forward. The added 2020 Epilogue, punctuated with photographs, plans and illustrations, captures what St. Charles has accomplished and looks to its future.