Broad Creek in Prince George's County was the first footprint of European settlement in the immediate counties around what would become the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. The area is part of greater Fort Washington. The area was settled by Europeans in the 1660s and the town was created in 1706 when the colonial Maryland Legislature authorized surveying and laying out the towns of Queen Anne Town, Nottingham, Mill Town, Piscataway, Aire (also known as Broad Creek) and Upper Marlboro (then known as Marlborough Town).