 New Carrollton is located east of central Washington, D.C.

New Carrollton is built on the former estate of a horse racing figure, Edward L. Mahoney.After Mahoney's death in 1957, the land was acquired by developer Albert W. Turner, who sought to create a planned suburb.He had received a charter for a City of Carrollton from the Maryland General Assembly four years earlier, on April 11, 1953.