Potomac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. In 2013, CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the most affluent town in all the United States based on median household income. Potomac is also the seventh most top-educated American small town according to Forbes. Bloomberg Businessweek labeled Potomac as the twenty-ninth richest zip code in the United States in 2011, stating that it had the largest population of any U.S. town with a median income of more than $240,000. In 2012, The Higley Elite 100 published a list of highest-income neighborhoods by mean household income, which included four neighborhoods in Potomac; one of these neighborhoods, "Carderock-The Palisades" was ranked the highest-income neighborhood in the United States, followed by "Beverly Hills-North of Sunset" in Beverly Hills, CA, and "Swinks Mill-Dominion Reserve" of McLean, VA. More recently, two Potomac neighborhoods were ranked among the ten wealthiest neighborhoods in the country by CNBC in 2014. Many Potomac residents work in nearby Washington, D.C.HistoryThe land that is now Potomac Village was first settled by Edward Offutt in 1714 after he was granted a 600acre land grant "Clewerwell" by Lord Baltimore. His grant of land was by the Tehogee Indian Trail, an Indian trade route built by the Canaze Indian nation in 1716. Throughout the 18th century, what became known as Offutts Crossroads was a small, rural community which served planters and travelers. In the 19th century, a few small dwellings had been built along with a tavern established in 1820. By the time of the Civil War, the community contained two general stores, a blacksmith shop, and a post office which served a community of 100.
