Areas · Charles County
Reels and spools in La Plata: the county seat on US-301
LA PLATA, Md. — La Plata, in ZIP 20646, is the Charles County seat, a small town on US-301 with county offices, a community college campus and farmland on every side. It produces fewer reels than Waldorf and wants more, so the desk delivers here as often as it collects.
From the reel desk · Checked 9 November 2026
Schematic line map, not to survey: La Plata marked, with US-301 drawn heavier. The Potomac, the Anacostia, the District line and the Beltway are drawn for bearings.
Fact box: La Plata
- ZIP
- 20646
- Main roads
- US-301, MD-6, MD-488
- Institutions
- County government; College of Southern Maryland
- Utility
- SMECO
The county seat
La Plata grew up around a railroad station and became the county seat in the 1890s. It is still a small town, with the county courthouse and government buildings, a hospital, the main campus of the College of Southern Maryland, and a commercial strip along US-301. Around it are farms, woods and scattered houses running south toward the Potomac and west toward Port Tobacco.
Reels from public work
County buildings, schools, the college and the hospital are expanded and renovated on long cycles. Each project leaves reels: building wire, feeders, data cable. Public work has its own rules about site access and disposal, and the desk will work to them. If you manage a public site, tell the desk who signs off on removal.
Utility and broadband work
SMECO serves Charles County, and its work across a rural area means long runs of distribution line and aluminium conductor on large A-series reels. Rural broadband is another source. Maryland’s final broadband round, approved in February 2026, funds about 9,000 locations across 18 counties. Fibre crews leave small reels, often plywood, a few at a time.
Farms want reels
The land around La Plata is farmland and horse country, and big reels are useful there:
- 48 to 60 inch reels for poly pipe, irrigation line and long hose runs.
- Smaller reels for fencing wire.
- Reels on end as feeders, stands or outdoor tables.
Southwire lists its 48 inch A-38 at 212 pounds and its 60 inch A-62 at about 397. Delivery to a farm needs a firm route for the truck and a way to set the reel down: a tractor with forks, or a ramp and two people.
Small pickups
La Plata pickups are usually small, a few reels from a job or a farm. The desk collects these on runs that also cover Waldorf and Brandywine. A photo and the flange sizes help plan the run.
Getting here
US-301 runs north through Waldorf to the Beltway and south to the Potomac River bridge into Virginia. MD-6 runs west to Port Tobacco and east toward Charlotte Hall. MD-488 links to MD-5.
Sending a request from La Plata
- Count and measure. Count the reels and measure the largest flange edge to edge across the face. A photo with the tape in it is better than a guess.
- Check the build. Nailed lumber, plywood sheet, steel or plastic. Look for a stencil or tag naming the maker and the reel number.
- Set aside steel and tagged returnables with their serial numbers. Those go back to the maker, not to the desk.
- Say where they stand: yard, dock, garage level, alley or curb, plus clearance, gate hours, badging or escort a driver needs.
- Say what loads them: forklift, pallet jack, loader, ramp, or only people. Reels over 42 inches weigh more than 100 lb empty.
- Say how often: one time, weekly, monthly or at each job close-out.
- Buying instead? Give the flange and height you want, how many, and how the reel gets from the truck to where it will sit.
- No form handy? Email info@dcwoodenspools.com with the same details and a few photos.
Reels you are likely to have
| Reel | Build | Flange | Traverse | Drum | Lb | Usually carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-5 | Nailed wood | 23 | 17 | 12 | 34 | Copper building wire, grounding |
| A-10 | Nailed wood | 30 | 22 | 16 | 66 | Service drop, bare aluminium |
| N-24 | Nailed wood | 36 | 28 | 14 | 83 | Insulated and multiplex cable |
| A-29 | Nailed wood | 42 | 28 | 21 | 154 | Overhead conductor, feeders |
| A-38 | Nailed wood | 48 | 28 | 24 | 212 | Aluminium and ACSR, large feeders |
| A-62 | Nailed wood | 60 | 28 | 28 | 397 | Utility conductor |
| A-76 | Nailed wood | 66 | 28 | 30 | 473 | Heavy conductor |
| S-120 | Steel, returnable | 84 | 36 | 42 | 895 | Transmission and medium voltage |
Other makers' reels differ by an inch or two. All flange sizes · How to measure
Questions the desk gets
Does the desk deliver large reels to farms near La Plata?
Yes. Tell the desk the size, the route for the truck and how the reel will be unloaded.
Are fibre reels from rural broadband work accepted?
Yes, including small and plywood reels that maker programs do not take back.
Sources
Each opened and read on 9 November 2026.
- Maryland Office of People's Counsel, Your Local Electricity Companies: which utility serves which Maryland counties
- Southern Maryland Chronicle, Maryland unlocks $79.1M to close final broadband gaps (6 February 2026): NTIA approval announced 4 February 2026: about 9,000 locations in 18 counties
- Southwire, Reel Packaging Information (CableTech Support): reel series, wooden reel dimensions and weights, steel reel dimensions and charges, tag contents; cites NEMA WC26