Frederick County, Maryland

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Frederick County, Maryland

Map
Location in the state of Maryland
Maryland's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded	1748
Seat	Frederick
Area - Total - Land - Water	1,728 km² (667 mi²) 1,717 km² (663 mi²) 12 km² (4 mi²), 0.67%
Population - (2005) - Density	220,701 114/km²
Website: 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. The county may have been named for Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore.

1 History
2 Law/Government
3 Geography
- 3.1 Adjacent counties
4 Demographics
5 Economy
6 Cities and towns
7 Miscellaneous
8 References
9 Notes
10 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] Law/Government

Frederick County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland.

[edit] Geography

A farm in Frederick County, Maryland

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,728 km² (667 mi²), making it the largest county in Maryland area-wise.^[1] 1,717 km² (663 mi²) of it is land and 12 km² (4 mi²) 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.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

Map of urban areas in Frederick County

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 195,277 people, 70,060 households, and 51,914 families residing in the county. The population density was 114/km² (295/mi²). There were 73,017 housing units at an average density of 43/km² (110/mi²). 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.

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.

[edit] 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 Wells Fargo, Frederick Memorial Hospital, MidAtlantic Medical Services and Bechtel ^[2]. Frederick County has a strong agricultural component of its economy, and it is the largest producer of milk in Maryland ^[3].

[edit] Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

2 Cities:
1. Brunswick (incorporated 1890)
2. Frederick (incorporated 1816)
9 Towns:
1. Burkittsville (incorporated 1894)
2. Emmitsburg (incorporated 1824)
3. Middletown (incorporated 1833)
4. Mount Airy (This town is partly in Frederick County and partly in Carroll County.) (incorporated 1894)
5. Myersville (incorporated 1904)
6. New Market (incorporated 1878)
7. Thurmont (incorporated 1831)
8. Walkersville (incorporated 1892)
9. Woodsboro (incorporated 1836)
1 Village:
1. 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
Graceham
Ijamsville
Jefferson
Knoxville
Ladiesburg
Lewistown
Libertytown
Lake Linganore
Monrovia
New Midway
Point of Rocks
Rocky Ridge
Sabillasville
Sunny Side
Tuscarora
Urbana
Wolfsville

[edit] Miscellaneous

The newspaper of record is The Frederick News-Post. The County Attorney for Frederick County is John Stephen Mathias, Sr.

[edit] References

Major Frederick County Employers. Frederick County Office of Economic Development. Retrieved on October 29, 2006.

[edit] Notes

^ Frederick News-Post Local Section. The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved on March 16, 2007.
^ Frederick County Office of Economic Development
^ Frederick County Office of Economic Development (Fast Facts#Brief Economic Facts)

[edit] External links

	Frederick County, Maryland
	Cities, towns and villages
	Brunswick \| Burkittsville \| Emmitsburg \| Frederick \| Middletown \| Mt. Airy \| Myersville \| New Market \| Rosemont \| Thurmont \| Walkersville \| Woodsboro
	Unincorporated areas
	Adamstown \| Ballenger Creek \| Braddock Heights \| Buckeystown \| Clover Hill \| Discovery-Spring Garden \| Green Valley \| Ijamsville \| Libertytown \| Linganore-Bartonsville \| Monrovia \| Mt. Pleasant \| Point of Rocks \| Sabillasville \| Unionville \| Urbana

	State of Maryland Annapolis (capital)
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Counties	Allegany \| Anne Arundel \| Baltimore City \| Baltimore County \| Calvert \| Caroline \| Carroll \| Cecil \| Charles \| Dorchester \| Frederick \| Garrett \| Harford \| Howard \| Kent \| Montgomery \| Prince George's \| Queen Anne's \| St. Mary's \| Somerset \| Talbot \| Washington \| Wicomico \| Worcester