| Calvert County, Maryland | ||
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Location in the state of Maryland |
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Maryland's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1654 | |
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| Seat | Prince Frederick | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
345.09 sq mi (894 km²) 215.17 sq mi (557 km²) 129.91 sq mi (336 km²), 37.65% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
88,737 413/sq mi (159.3/km²) |
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| Website | www.co.cal.md.us | |
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest median household-income in the United States.[1]
As of 2010[update], the population was 88,737. Its county seat is the town of Prince Frederick, Maryland. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of the English Colony of Maryland.
Calvert County is one of the several Maryland counties that make up part of the Washington Metropolitan Area or the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.
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Calvert County is the home of the notable Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant at Lusby.
A branch of the United States Naval Research Laboratory is located at Chesapeake Beach.
The Cove Point LNG Terminal is located near Lusby, Maryland, on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
The Patuxent River Naval Air Station is located immediately to the south of Calvert County, in St. Mary's County.
According to the County's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[2] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calvert County Public Schools | 2,264 |
| 2 | Calvert County Government | 1,257 |
| 3 | Calvert Memorial Hospital | 1,057 |
| 4 | Constellation Energy | 800 |
| 5 | Wal-Mart | 500 |
| 6 | Arc of Southern Maryland | 455 |
| 7 | Giant Food | 385 |
| 8 | Safeway | 290 |
| 9 | Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa | 230 |
| 10 | Recorded Books | 230 |
First settled as Charles County (not the same as present-day Charles County, Maryland) around 1650,[3] it was renamed. Patuxent County was established in 1654 by an Order in Council.[4] In 1658 the county was renamed Calvert County.[5] It is one of the older counties in Maryland, after St. Mary's County, Kent County and Anne Arundel County.
Once made up primarily of farms and tobacco fields, the county was/is slowly claiming its place as a fast-growing exurban neighbor of Washington. Many home prices have nearly quadrupled in the past decade, with many four-bedroom homes in the northern half of the county averaging over $1,000,000. The popular weekend resort towns Solomons, Maryland and Chesapeake Beach are notable.
The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
Calvert County is governed by a group of five county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in the state of Maryland.
| Position | Name | Affiliation | District | |
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| Commissioner | Susan Shaw | Republican | At-Large | |
| Commissioner | Pat Nutter | Republican | At-Large | |
| Commissioner | Steve Weems | Republican | At-Large | |
| Commissioner | Gerald W. "Jerry" Clark | Republican | At-Large | |
| Commissioner | Evan Slaughenhoupt | Republican | At-Large | |
The county regularly elects prominent Democrats, including the second most powerful Democrat in the United States House of Representatives Steny H. Hoyer and State Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, Jr. (D). However, the County Commissioners are entirely Republican.
It is part of the 5th Congressional District, along with much of Southern Maryland. The current representative is Democratic House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer.
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 345.09 square miles (893.8 km2), of which 215.17 square miles (557.3 km2) (or 62.35%) is land and 129.91 square miles (336.5 km2) (or 37.65%) is water.[7]
Calvert County is served by Calvert County Public Schools. The county's education system consists of 13 elementary schools, 6 middle schools, 4 high schools, vocational education center, and a variety of other facilities.
Calvert County lies in the Humid subtropical climate zone, with hot, humid summers and mild to chilly winters with plentiful precipitation year-round. Its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay has a moderating effect on temperatures compared with locales further inland.
Calvert County has been the setting for several movies and television programs. The opening scene of the 1993 Clint Eastwood movie In the Line of Fire was filmed at Flag Harbor Marina in St. Leonard. More recently, the Calvert County Sheriff's Department has been featured on several reality television programs, including Speeders on the truTV network and MTV's Busted.
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Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 74,563 people, 25,447 households, and 20,154 families residing in the county. The population density was 346 people per square mile (134/km²). There were 27,576 housing units at an average density of 128 per square mile (49/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.93% White, 13.11% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. 1.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.5% were of Irish, 15.0% German, 12.0% English, 11.5% United States or American and 7.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 25,447 households out of which 41.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.80% were non-families. 16.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the county the population was spread out with 29.60% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 8.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $65,945, and the median income for a family was $71,545 (these figures had risen to $88,989 and $100,229 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[9]). Males had a median income of $48,664 versus $32,265 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,410. About 3.10% of families and 4.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.10% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2010 Census the racial and ethnic make-up of the Calvert County Population was 79.65% Non-Hispanic whites, 13.44% blacks, 0.37% Native Americans, 1.42% Asians, 0.05% Pacific Islanders, 0.12% Non-Hispanics reporting some other race, 2.40% Non-Hispanics reporting multiple races and 2.75% Hispanic.
Calvert County includes two municipalities, both classified as towns under Maryland law:
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:
Dunkirk, Huntingtown, Lusby, Owings, Prince Frederick, St. Leonard and Solomons have all been designated by Calvert County government as being "town centers." The "town center" designation means while these communities may not have incorporated central governments, they do have specified boundaries surrounding the central business and residential areas for zoning purposes. The reason behind the "town center" designation is to cluster new development within established areas with existing infrastructure, thus discouraging urban sprawl. The implementation of the "town center" concept in Calvert County over the past two decades has for the most part been successful in preserving rural and agricultural areas outside the designated "town centers", and stands as a key example of the smart growth planning strategy.[10][11]
Other unincorporated places not listed as Census-Designated Places but known in the area include:
The main artery serving Calvert County is Maryland Route 4 (which begins in Washington, D.C. as Pennsylvania Avenue before crossing into Prince Georges County, Maryland and Anne Arundel County, Maryland). Route 4 in Calvert County begins at the very northern tip of the county at Lyons Creek, approximately 3 miles north of Dunkirk. At Sunderland, Route 4 meets Maryland Route 2 (traveling south as a two-lane road from Annapolis) and the two roads merge as Maryland Route 2-4. Route 2-4 continues south through Prince Frederick, St. Leonard and Lusby. At Solomons, Routes 2 and 4 split again, with Route 2 heading towards downtown Solomons and Route 4 crossing the Patuxent River at the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge into St. Mary's County.
Route 2-4 is designated Solomons Island Road throughout much of the county, with the section south of Prince Frederick being recently renamed Louis Goldstein Highway in memory of Louis L. Goldstein, the former comptroller of Maryland and Calvert County resident.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Route 2-4 underwent an extensive expansion project, with the formerly two-lane road becoming a four-lane dual highway. Certain portions of the highway were re-aligned, with the former roadway becoming Maryland Route 765. The final portion of the dualized Route 2-4 between St. Leonard and Solomons was completed in 1988. In 2009, a portion of Route 2-4 in Prince Frederick was expanded to 3 lines, along with sidewalks added.
Other major roadways in Calvert County include:
| Prince George's County | Anne Arundel County | |||
| Charles County | Dorchester County and Talbot County | |||
| Calvert County, Maryland | ||||
| St. Mary's County |
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