city, Prince George's county, central Maryland, U.S., lying 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. (Washington) It developed around Maryland Agricultural College (established 1856), which became Maryland State College of Agriculture in 1916 and merged with the University of Maryland (Maryland, University of) (1807) in 1920, when the university's main campus was established at College Park. The administrative offices of the Maryland Agricultural Experimental Station (1887) are in College Park. Surrounding institutions include the National Agricultural Research Center and Fort George G. Meade (northeast) and the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Goddard Space Flight Center (east). The Army Aviation School was established at the College Park Airport in 1911 with Wilbur Wright (Wright, Wilbur and Orville) as an instructor. The historic airport, the world's oldest in continuous operation, was the site of numerous aviation firsts, including the first air mail service. Inc. town, 1945; city, 1955. Pop. (1990) 21,927; (2000) 24,657.