Indian Head is a town in
Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,844 at the
2010 U.S. Census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of
nitrocellulose and
smokeless powder began at the Indian Head Powder Factory in 1900. The name of the base has varied over the years from Indian Head Proving Ground, to Naval Powder Factory, to Naval Propellant Plant, to Naval Ordnance Station, to the present Naval Support Facility Indian Head. The facility's main tenant activity is the
Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC/IH). Advanced research in energetic systems takes place at NSWC/IH. NSWC/IH absorbed the function of the closed
Naval Ordnance Laboratory, formerly in
White Oak, Maryland. The base currently employs 3,700.