St. Michaels, Maryland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Michaels is a town in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,193 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Geography

St. Michaels is located at 38°47′1″N, 76°13′20″W (38.783748, -76.222214)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²). 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (9.89%) is water.

It is located in a long, narrow neck of land along the Miles River. The village is a tourist attraction, and there are high quality hotels, inns, seafood restaurants, and gift shops in town. Tourboat cruises connect the town with Annapolis across the Bay. A free public ferryboat service nearby also takes people across the river to Oxford, MD.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,193 people, 548 households, and 340 families residing in the town. The population density was 555.0/km² (1,442.1/mi²). There were 671 housing units at an average density of 312.1/km² (811.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 69.24% White, 29.25% African American, 0.17% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.59% of the population.

There were 548 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,578, and the median income for a family was $39,821. Males had a median income of $30,438 versus $23,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,131. About 11.1% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Trivia

Christ Church Episcopal Church in St Michaels main road

St. Michaels derived its name from the Episcopal Parish established here in 1677. The church attracted settlers who engaged in tobacco growing and ship building.
In 1805, an area was set aside for a public market known as "St. Mary's Square". Here stands a bell cast in 1841 which rang at 7a.m., noon and 5p.m. to measure the workday for the ship's carpenters in the nearby harbor and the remains of a cannon used in the defense of the town during the War of 1812.
A principal attraction in town is the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Former baseball player Harold Baines grew up and still lives in St. Michaels.
The movie Wedding Crashers starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn was filmed in St Michaels in 2004.
As of 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld both own homes in St. Michaels.
Home of the famous Ted Doyle father of Patrick Doyle
Frederick Douglass lived part of his life as a slave at the Mount Misery farm (working for the poor farmer and notorious "slave-breaker" Edward Covey), and later returned as a county marshal during Reconstruction.
In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld purchased the Mount Misery property mentioned above.
Vernon and Dolores Hill, parents of Vernon Hill founder of Commerce Bank, owned several homes in St. Michaels prior to their deaths.
Home to the parents of actress Julianne Moore.
In 2007 the town was named #8 of the Top Ten Romantic Escapes in the USA by Coastal Living Magazine.