Wheaton is an unincorporated but urbanized area in Montgomery County, Maryland, north of Washington, DC, northwest of Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton, a major-general in the Union Army in the American Civil War.
As an unincorporated area, Wheaton's boundaries are not officially defined. The United States Census Bureau has not chosen to make Wheaton itself into a Census-Designated Place, but combines it with Glenmont into a single Wheaton-Glenmont CDP, centered at 39°3' North, 77°3' West, whose 2000 census population was 57,694. The United States Geological Survey, however, does consider Wheaton as a place whose center is at latitude 39°2'23" North, longitude 77°3'20" West. The United States Postal Service does not consider Wheaton as a place on its own, but treats it as a part of the Silver Spring area; however, it does have a separate Zip Code: 20902. Other organizations may use their own definitions.
