Wicomico County, Maryland

Wicomico County, Maryland
Flag Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland's location in the U.S.
Founded	1867
Named for	Wicomico River
Seat	Salisbury
Largest city	Salisbury
Area
• Total	400 sq mi (1,036 km2)
• Land	374 sq mi (969 km2)
• Water	26 sq mi (67 km2), 6.4%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	102,370
• Density	256/sq mi (99/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.wicomicocounty.org

Wicomico County (/waɪˈkɒmɪkoʊ/^[1]) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,733.^[2] The county seat is Salisbury.^[3] The county was named for the Wicomico River, which in turn derives from Algonquian language words wicko mekee, meaning "a place where houses are built," apparently referring to an Indian town on the banks.

Wicomico County is included in the Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The newspaper of record is The Daily Times.

History

Wicomico County was created from Somerset and Worcester counties in 1867.

Politics and government

Wicomico County was granted a charter form of government in 1964.

In the period after the Reconstruction era, Wicomico County became solidly Democratic due to its strong support for secession and state efforts to disenfranchise most blacks by raising barriers to voter registration. Independent insurgent white groups worked to intimidate and discourage black voters, especially in rural areas.^[4]

Maryland was a one-party state, like others in the South, until after the passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s to protect the right to vote. No Republican carried Wicomico County until 1928, when Herbert Hoover won due to anti-Catholic sentiment in the heavily Protestant county against Democratic candidate Al Smith. The popular general Dwight D. Eisenhower carried Wicomico in 1952. Since the late 20th century, white conservatives, the majority in the county, have increasingly joined the Republican Party. In this same period, African-American voters have tended to favor the Democratic Party, which supported their civil rights movement at the national level, as have other minorities.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Wicomico County since Lyndon Johnson’s landslide in 1964, as white conservatives increasingly moved into the Republican Party.^[5] Bill Clinton, a son of the South, came within 384 votes of beating Bob Dole in 1996. Barack Obama attracted a much higher proportion of the county vote in 2008 and 2012, likely among younger people, the educated, and other minorities.

Presidential Elections Results^[6]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2016	52.2% 22,198	42.4% 18,050	5.4% 2,299
2012	51.5% 21,764	46.5% 19,635	2.0% 860
2008	52.2% 21,849	46.4% 19,436	1.4% 569
2004	58.7% 21,998	40.4% 15,137	1.0% 368
2000	51.4% 16,338	45.5% 14,469	3.1% 988
1996	46.5% 12,687	45.1% 12,303	8.4% 2,296
1992	44.8% 13,560	37.9% 11,481	17.3% 5,231
1988	63.2% 16,272	36.6% 9,413	0.3% 70
1984	66.3% 16,124	33.5% 8,160	0.2% 48
1980	51.3% 11,229	43.1% 9,431	5.7% 1,245
1976	52.8% 10,537	47.2% 9,412
1972	69.7% 13,115	29.3% 5,510	1.0% 190
1968	47.2% 8,707	29.2% 5,392	23.6% 4,356
1964	46.1% 7,448	53.9% 8,695
1960	54.1% 8,671	45.9% 7,350
1956	63.9% 9,377	36.1% 5,289
1952	60.6% 9,061	39.3% 5,878	0.2% 26
1948	48.1% 5,062	51.5% 5,415	0.4% 39
1944	47.0% 5,040	53.0% 5,674
1940	39.5% 4,741	59.9% 7,198	0.6% 73
1936	38.2% 4,545	61.1% 7,273	0.8% 95
1932	35.4% 3,812	64.1% 6,895	0.5% 48
1928	59.0% 5,923	40.8% 4,095	0.2% 15
1924	43.8% 2,604	51.6% 3,068	4.6% 271
1920	45.4% 4,225	54.3% 5,054	0.3% 30
1916	42.9% 2,539	55.5% 3,285	1.7% 98
1912	35.3% 2,038	55.0% 3,176	9.7% 558
1908	43.9% 2,273	53.1% 2,751	3.1% 158
1904	44.5% 2,179	52.9% 2,593	2.6% 128
1900	44.2% 2,376	52.0% 2,793	3.8% 205

County council

The legislative functions of government are vested in the County Council. The County Council consists of seven members, five of whom are elected from single-member districts; the other two are elected at-large. This method tends to produce a council with members weighted toward the majority population, and members need to ensure they do not under-represent the minority. As of 2014, Councilman John Cannon is the current Council President.^[7]

Wicomico County Council

District		Name	Party
	District 1	Ernest F. Davis	Democratic
	District 2	Marc Kilmer	Republican
	District 3	Larry W. Dodd	Republican
	District 4	John Hall	Republican
	District 5	Joseph Holloway	Republican
	At-Large	John T. Cannon	Republican
	At-Large	Matthew Holloway	Republican

County executive

The County Executive^[8] oversees the executive branch of the County government that consists of a number of offices and departments. The executive branch is charged with implementing County law and overseeing the operation of County Government. The position of County Executive was established by a modification in the County's Charter in 2006.

Wicomico County Executive

Name		Party	From	To
	Richard M. Pollitt, Jr.	Democratic	2006	2014
	Robert L. Culver, Jr.	Republican	2014

Sheriff

Law enforcement in the county is provided by the Wicomico County sheriff's office. The sheriff, Mike Lewis, a Republican, is an elected official. Municipal police agencies exist in the town of Delmar and the cities of Fruitland and Salisbury.

State's attorney

The Wicomico County State's Attorney is responsible for prosecuting the felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile cases occurring in the county. The current State's Attorney is Ella Disharoon, Esq.^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 400 square miles (1,000 km²), of which 374 square miles (970 km²) is land and 26 square miles (67 km²) (6.4%) is water.^[10]

The county's boundary with Delaware is composed of the Mason-Dixon line and the Transpeninsular Line. The intersection of these two historical lines is the midpoint of the Transpeninsular Line, fixed by Mason and Dixon between 1763 and 1767. The midpoint is located about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury, near the center of the Delmarva Peninsula. The county is generally flat, characteristic of the region, with a few small hills in the northeast. The lowest elevation is at sea level and the highest elevation is 98 ft (30 m).

Adjacent counties

• Dorchester County, Maryland (northwest)
• Somerset County, Maryland (southwest)
• Sussex County, Delaware (north)
• Worcester County, Maryland (southeast)

Major highways

• US 13
• US 13 Bus.
• US 50
• US 50 Bus.
• MD 12
• MD 54
• MD 313
• MD 346
• MD 347
• MD 348
• MD 349
• MD 350
• MD 352
• MD 353
• MD 354
• MD 374
• MD 513
• MD 670
• MD 675
• MD 815
• MD 992

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	15,802		—
1880	18,016		14.0%
1890	19,930		10.6%
1900	22,852		14.7%
1910	26,815		17.3%
1920	28,165		5.0%
1930	31,229		10.9%
1940	34,530		10.6%
1950	39,641		14.8%
1960	49,050		23.7%
1970	54,236		10.6%
1980	64,540		19.0%
1990	74,339		15.2%
2000	84,644		13.9%
2010	98,733		16.6%
Est. 2016	102,577	[11]	3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[12] 1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14] 1990-2000[15] 2010-2015[2]

2000 census

As of the census^[16] of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile (42.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.7% White, 24.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 1.90% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 4.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The largest ancestry groups in Wicomico County are 23% African American, 14% English American, 13% German, 12% Irish and 4% Italian.^[17]

There were 37,220 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 25% of households had individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 6.2% under age 5, 6.2% age 5 to 9, 6.1% 10 to 14, 9.1% from 15 to 19, 9.5% from 20 to 24, 6.4% from 25 to 29, 5.8% from 30 to 34, 5.7% from 35 to 39, 6.1% from 40 to 44, 7.1% from 45 to 49, 7.1% from 50 to 54, 6.3% from 55 to 59, 5.4% from 60 to 64, 4.1% from 65 to 69, 2.8% from 70 to 74, 2.4% from 75 to 79, 1.9% from 80 to 84, and 1.8% over the age of 85. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females there were 91.00 males. Females made up 52.3% of the population, while males made up the remaining 47.7%.

As of the census of 2000 The median income for a household in the county was $39,035, and the median income for a family was $47,129. Males had a median income of $32,481 versus $23,548 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,171. About 8.70% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county.^[18] The population density was 263.7 inhabitants per square mile (101.8/km²). There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 110.0 per square mile (42.5/km²).^[19] The racial makeup of the county was 68.7% white, 24.2% black or African American, 2.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.9% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.5% of the population.^[18] In terms of ancestry, 15.7% were English, 15.1% were German, 13.6% were Irish, 6.0% were American, and 5.6% were Italian.^[20]

Of the 37,220 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.1% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 35.7 years.^[18]

The median income for a household in the county was $50,752 and the median income for a family was $62,150. Males had a median income of $42,408 versus $34,544 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,505. About 7.8% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.^[21]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Wicomico County Public Schools operates public schools in the county.

Colleges and universities

• Salisbury University
• Wor-Wic Community College

Economy

Perdue Farms, Inc., a multi-national poultry and grain corporation, is headquartered in Salisbury, the county seat of Wicomico County. Piedmont Airlines is headquartered in unincorporated Wicomico County,^[22] at the airport and near the City of Salisbury.^[23] Other major employers in Wicomico County include: Salisbury University, Verizon, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, The Knowland Group, and Pepsi Bottling of Delmarva.

Other industries in Wicomico County include electronic component manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, and agriculture.

Media

Periodicals

• Coastal Style - bimonthly magazine
• The Daily Times - daily newspaper

• Metropolitan Magazine - monthly magazine
• Salisbury Independent - weekly newspaper
• Salisbury Star - monthly newspaper

Television

• WBOC Channel 16, DT 21.1 CBS
• WBOC-DT2 (Fox 21 Delmarva) DT 21.2 Fox
• WMDT Channel 47, DT 53.1 ABC
• WMDT-DT2 (The CW 3 Delmarva) DT 53.2 The CW
• WCPB Channel 28, DT 58.1 & 58.2 PBS—additional subchannels 58.3-58.5
• PAC 14 Public, Educational, and Government Access Television Channel 14 (Comcast)

Communities

Cities

• Fruitland
• Salisbury (county seat)

Towns

• Delmar
• Hebron
• Mardela Springs
• Pittsville
• Sharptown
• Willards

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

• Silver Run
• Wetipquin
• Whiton (partly in Worcester County)

Notable people

• Erin Burnett, Born in Mardela Springs, Burnett was a CNBC Host and is currently host of Erin Burnett OutFront on CNN
• Joseph Stewart Cottman, (1803–1863), born near Allen, United States Congressman from Maryland^[24]
• Alexis Denisof Actor. Born in Salisbury. Married to actress Alyson Hannigan. Best known For "How I Met Your Mother" and "Angel".
• John Glover, Actor. Reared in Salisbury.
• Linda Hamilton, Actress. Born in Salisbury. Most widely known for her starring role in the series, "Beauty And The Beast", and movies, "Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
• Maulana Karenga, Born in Parsonsburg, Karenga is an African-American professor of Africana Studies, activist and author, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American holiday of Kwanzaa.
• Sarah Louise Northcott, convicted of murder in 1928 in Riverside County, California for her role in the notorious Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. Northcott served 12 years in a California prison for her crimes. Following her parole in 1940, she moved to Parsonsburg, Maryland, where she resided until her death in 1944.^[25]
• Frank Perdue Former president and CEO of Perdue Farms.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wicomico County, Maryland

References

External links

• Wicomico County government
• Geographic data related to Wicomico County, Maryland at OpenStreetMap
• Wicomico County Convention and Visitor's Bureau
• Wicomico Public Library
• Your Community Link: A Database of Community, Government, and Non-Profit organizations on the Lower Shore

Coordinates: 38°22′N 75°38′W / 38.37°N 75.63°W / 38.37; -75.63