Frederick County, Maryland

Infobox U.S. County
county = Frederick County
state = Maryland


map size = 225
founded year = 1748
seat wl = Frederick | area_total_sq_mi =667
area_land_sq_mi =663
area_water_sq_mi =4
area percentage = 0.67%
census estimate yr = 2005
pop = 220701
density_km2 =114
web = www.co.frederick.md.us
|

Frederick County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. It is a part of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area, and is often recognized as part of Western Maryland. The county is home to Catoctin Mountain Park (encompassing the presidential retreat Camp David) and to the U.S. Army's Fort Detrick. The county seat is Frederick, which was home to several celebrated historical figures like Francis Scott Key, Thomas Johnson (governor), Roger B. Taney and Barbara Fritchie. The county (like the county seat) may have been named for Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. [cite web
url=http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/fr/html/fr.html
title=Frederick County, Maryland — Government
publisher=Maryland State Archives
date= March 05, 2008
accessdate=2008-08-16]

History

Frederick County was created in 1748 from parts of Prince George's County and Baltimore County.

In 1776, Frederick County was divided into three parts. The westernmost portion became Washington County, named after George Washington, the easternmost portion became Montgomery County, named after another Revolutionary War general, Richard Montgomery. The central portion remained Frederick County.

In 1837 a part of Frederick County was combined with a part of Baltimore County to form Carroll County.

Law/Government

Frederick County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. The County Attorney for Frederick County is John Stephen Mathias, Sr. The President of the Frederick County Board of County Commissioners is Jan Gardner. The sheriff of Frederick County is Chuck Jenkins. The Executive Director for the Frederick County Office of Economic Development is Laurie Boyer.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 667 square miles (1,728 km²), making it the largest county in Maryland area-wise. [cite web|url=http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/local/|title=Frederick News-Post Local Section|work=The Frederick News-Post|accessmonthday=March 16 |accessyear=2007] 663 square miles (1,717 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (12 km²) of it (0.67%) is water.

Attractions in the Frederick area include the Clustered Spires, a monument to Francis Scott Key, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Monocacy National Battlefield and South Mountain battlefields, and the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum.

Adjacent counties

* Adams County, Pennsylvania (north)
* Carroll County (east)
* Howard County (southeast)
* Franklin County, Pennsylvania (north)
* Montgomery County (south)
* Washington County (west)
* Loudoun County, Virginia (southwest)

National protected areas

* Catoctin Mountain Park
* Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (part)
* Monocacy National Battlefield

Major Highways

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Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 195,277 people, 70,060 households, and 51,914 families residing in the county. The population density was 295 people per square mile (114/km²). There were 73,017 housing units at an average density of 110/square mile (43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.33% White, 6.36% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.67% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 2.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.7% were of German, 12.9% American, 12.3% Irish and 10.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 70,060 households out of which 38.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.10% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 20.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 32.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males.

Economy

The median income for a household in Frederick county is $60,276, and the median income for a family was $67,879. Males had a median income of $42,378 versus $30,564 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,404. About 2.90% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.90% of those under age 18 and 6.00% of those age 65 or over.

Fort Detrick is the largest employer in Frederick County. The largest employers aside from the government are the Frederick Memorial Healthcare System, Bechtel, SAIC and Wells Fargo. [Frederick County Office of Economic Development] Frederick County has a strong agricultural component of its economy, and it is the largest producer of milk in Maryland. [Frederick County Office of Economic Development (Fast Facts#Brief Economic Facts)]

Communities

Frederick County contains the following incorporated municipalities:

* 2 Cities:
*#Brunswick (incorporated 1890)
*#Frederick (incorporated 1816)
* 9 Towns:
*#Burkittsville (incorporated 1894)
*#Emmitsburg (incorporated 1824)
*#Middletown (incorporated 1833)
*#Mount Airy ("This town is partly in Frederick County and partly in Carroll County.") (incorporated 1894)
*#Myersville (incorporated 1904)
*#New Market (incorporated 1878)
*#Thurmont (incorporated 1831)
*#Walkersville (incorporated 1892)
*#Woodsboro (incorporated 1836)
* 1 Village:
*#Rosemont (incorporated 1953)

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county:

#Ballenger Creek
#Braddock Heights
#Clover Hill
#Discovery-Spring Garden (a combination of the communities of Discovery and Spring Garden recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
#Green Valley
#Linganore-Bartonsville (a combination of the communities of Linganore and Bartonsville recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)

Other unincorporated areas include:

#Adamstown
#Buckeystown
#Graceham
#Ijamsville
#Jefferson
#Knoxville
#Ladiesburg
#Lewistown
#Libertytown
#Lake Linganore
#Monrovia
#New Midway
#Point of Rocks
#Rocky Ridge
#Sabillasville
# Sunny Side
#Tuscarora
#Urbana
#Utica
#Wolfsville

References

*cite web|url=http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com/business/directory/majoremployers.cfm|title=Major Frederick County Employers|work=Frederick County Office of Economic Development|accessmonthday=May 25 |accessyear=2007
*The newspaper of record is The Frederick News-Post.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.co.frederick.md.us Frederick County government]
* [http://www.fcps.org/ Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS)]
* [http://www.fcpl.org/ Frederick County Public Libraries (FCPL)]
* [http://fredericktourism.org/ Frederick County Tourism]
*dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Maryland/Counties/Frederick/|Frederick County, Maryland
* [http://www.eatinfrederick.com/ Frederick County Restaurants]
* [http://www.co.frederick.md.us/BOCC/ Frederick County Board of County Commissioners]