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is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,299 at the 2000 census.
Takoma Park was founded by Benjamin Franklin Gilbert in 1883 and incorporated in 1890. It was the first planned commuter suburb in the area, and also bore aspects of a spa and trolley park. For many decades it was world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church denomination, which has a college, hospital, and radio station there.
Since before the incorporation of Takoma Park in 1890, the Montgomery/Prince George's County boundary cut through the current city boundaries, but pursuant to a popular referendum, and subsequent approval by both counties' councils, and the Maryland General Assembly, on July 1 1997 the county line was moved to include all of the city in Montgomery County, including some territory newly annexed to the city at the time. (Residents in the Prince Georges portion disliked having to pay higher insurance rates, and being part of a county noted for its much higher crime and lower public school scores). At one time an extension of Interstate 95, also known as the North Central Freeway, was proposed that would have cut the city in two. Sam Abbott and others successfully campaigned to prevent this.
Also dividing the community is the boundary line of the District of Columbia, which contains part of the original Gilbert tract. This area is now known as Takoma, Washington, D.C. While politically separate from Takoma Park, Maryland, it shares its history and much of its culture.
Much of the old town Takoma Park was incorporated into the Takoma Park Historic District; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.