page_title: Maryland Route 6
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: Maryland Route 6 / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: Shot of Maryland State Route 6 (Charles St), heading westbound in Charles County in Southern Maryland. This is just before the turn into Woodhaven Drive.
context_page_description: Maryland Route 6 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 47.36 miles from a dead end at the Potomac River in Riverside east to MD 235 in Oraville. MD 6 connects several small communities in southern Charles County and northern St. Mary's County with U.S. Route 301 in La Plata, the county seat of Charles County, and MD 5 in Charlotte Hall. The state highway also provides access to multiple historic sites around Port Tobacco, the original county seat of Charles County. MD 6 was one of the original highways numbered by the Maryland State Roads Commission in 1927. The state highway was constructed from La Plata to Riverside in the late 1910s and early 1920s. The La Plata–Charlotte Hall section of the highway was built in the mid-1920s. The portion of MD 6 east of Charlotte Hall was mostly built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The final section of the state highway was completed in Oraville in 1940.
context_section_description: MD 6 begins at a dead end next to the Potomac River in Riverside.   The state highway, named Port Tobacco Road, heads straight northwest as a 16 ft (4.9 m) wide roadway between farms.  When the road reaches MD 224 (Riverside Road), MD 6 turns north and widens to a two-lane undivided road through a forested area.  The state highway veers northwest to cross Nanjemoy Creek, then passes through the hamlet of Grayton and meets the southern end of MD 425 (Ironsides Road).  MD 6 continues north through the community of Nanjemoy, crosses Beaverdam Creek, and begins to curve to the east.  The state highway intersects MD 344 (Chicamuxen Road) in the hamlet of Doncaster before passing through the Doncaster Demonstration Forest.  East of the state forest, MD 6 passes through the village of Ironsides, where the highway intersects MD 425 again.  MD 425 heads south as Ironsides Road and north as Mason Springs Road.
  MD 6 continues east, crossing Wards Run and passing through the community of Hill Top.  The next village along the state highway is Welcome, where Fire Tower Road heads north toward the historic home Rosemary Lawn.  MD 6 crosses Mill Run and continues through McConchie, from which Blossom Point Road splits south along Cedar Point Neck toward the historic home Cedar Grove and Blossom Point Proving Ground.  As the state highway approaches Port Tobacco, the highway passes two more historic homes, Ellerslie and Retreat.  MD 6 crosses Hoghole Run and intersects Rose Hill Road, which leads north to the namesake home and Thomas Stone National Historic Site.  The state highway immediately crosses the Port Tobacco River into Port Tobacco Village, where the highway intersects Chapel Point Road on a tangent.  Chapel Point Road leads south through the Port Tobacco Historic District, which includes Stagg Hall, toward St. Thomas Manor and Chapel Point State Park.  MD 6 follows the Port Tobacco River northeast, then veers east when Valley Road splits to the north.  The state highway passes another historic home, La Grange, before entering the town of La Plata.
  MD 6 intersects US 301 (Robert Crain Highway) on the west side of downtown La Plata.  The state highway continues east as Charles Street, which passes by the Charles County courthouse, county offices, and the two streets that formed the original alignment of US 301, St. Mary's Avenue heading south and Washington Avenue, which heads north past The Hermitage.  MD 6 intersects CSX Transportation's Pope's Creek Subdivision at grade, then leaves the downtown area and continues east past the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center and over Clark Run.  The state highway intersects MD 488 (La Plata Road) and veers southeast out of the county seat.  MD 6 returns to an eastbound trajectory in the village of Newtown, from which Bel Alton Newtown Road splits south past the historic home Rich Hill.  The state highway uses a trio of bridges to cross the Zekiah Swamp and passes through the village of Dentsville.  MD 6 skirts Gilbert Run Regional Park and traverses Wheatley Run and Gilbert Swamp Run before leaving Charles County.
  Upon entering St. Mary's County, MD 6 becomes New Market Road.  The state highway crosses the Three Notch Trail and enters the community of Charlotte Hall, where the highway intersects the two directions of MD 5 (Three Notch Road) at separate intersections. The Charlotte Hall area is home to an Amish community. MD 6 continues east as New Market–Turner Road to Huntersville, where the highway passes All Faith Church and makes a sharp curve to the north.  Immediately after this curve, All Faith Church Road continues straight toward Golden Beach while MD 6 turns east toward the Patuxent River, crossing Locks Swamp Creek.  The state highway curves to the south as it arrives in the river's plain and crosses Persimmon Creek, then leaves the river plain and gradually curves to the southwest.  MD 6 reaches its eastern terminus at a directional crossover intersection with MD 235 (Three Notch Road) in Oraville, opposite county-maintained Morganza Turner Road.
  MD 6 is a 
caption: Westbound MD 6 east of La Plata
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