Allegany County, Maryland
U.S. County|
county = Allegany County|
state = Maryland |
seal = Allegany county md seal.gif|
map = Map of Maryland highlighting Allegany County.svg |
map size = 225|
founded =
1789| seat =
Cumberland | area = 1,113
km² (430
mi²) |
area land = 1,102 km² (425 mi²) |
area water = 11 km² (4 mi²) |
area percentage = 1.02% |
census yr = 2000|
pop = 74,930 |
density = 68|
web = gov.allconet.org|}}
Allegany County is a
county located in the western portion of the
U.S. state of
Maryland. As of 2000, the population was 74,930. Its
county seat is
Cumberland. The name
Allegany comes from a local
Native American word,
oolikhanna, which means "beautiful stream." It should be noted that the spelling
Allegany County is used in
New York as well as in Maryland;
Pennsylvania spells a similarly-named county
Allegheny County, while
Virginia and
North Carolina spell theirs
Alleghany County.
The western part of Maryland (including the present Allegany County) was incorporated into
Prince George's County in
1696. This county included six current counties, and by repeated splitting, new ones were generated:
Frederick from Prince George's in
1748; and
Montgomery and
Washington from Frederick in
1776.[
1]
Allegany County was formed in
1789 by the splitting of
Washington County. At the time it was the westernmost county in Maryland, but a later (
1872) split produced
Garrett County, the current westernmost county.
Allegany County was granted a home rule form of government in
1974.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,113
km² (430
mi²). 1,102 km² (425 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it (1.02%) is water.
Adjacent Counties
*
Somerset County, Pennsylvania (north)
*
Bedford County, Pennsylvania (north)
*
Fulton County, Pennsylvania (north)
*
Washington County (east)
*
Morgan County, West Virginia (south)
*
Hampshire County, West Virginia (south)
*
Mineral County, West Virginia (south)
*
Garrett County (west)
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 74,930 people, 29,322 households, and 18,883 families residing in the county. The
population density was 68/km² (176/mi²). There were 32,984 housing units at an average density of 30/km² (78/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.02%
White, 5.35%
Black or
African American, 0.15%
Native American, 0.52%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.19% from
other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 29,322 households out of which 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were
married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.60% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county the population was spread out with 20.60% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,821, and the median income for a family was $39,886. Males had a median income of $31,316 versus $21,334 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $16,780. About 9.70% of families and 14.80% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 17.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.
* 2
Cities:
*#
Cumberland (incorporated
1815)
*#
Frostburg (incorporated
1839)
* 5
Towns:
*#
Barton (incorporated
1900)
*#
Lonaconing (incorporated
1890)
*#
Luke (incorporated
1922)
*#
Midland (incorporated
1900)
*#
Westernport (incorporated
1858In Total: 7
Occupying a middle ground between incorporated and unincorporated areas are Special Tax Districts, quasi-municipal unincorporated areas created by legislation passed by the
Maryland General Assembly.[
2] They lack home rule authority and must petition the General Assembly for changes affecting the authority of the district. There are eight Special Tax Districts in the county:#
Bel Air (1965)#Bowling Green and Robert's Place (1972)#
Cresaptown (1949)#Ellerslie (1963)#
La Vale Sanitary District (1947)#
McCoole (1965)#Mount Savage (1950)#
Potomac Park Addition (1947)
#
Cresaptown-Bel Air (a combination of the communities of
Cresaptown and
Bel Air recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)#
La ValeOther unincorporated areas include: #
Barrelville#
Bier#
Borden Shaft#
Corriganville#
Eckhart Mines#
Ellerslie#
Flintstone#
Little Orleans#
McCoole#
Midlothian#
Mount Savage#
Oldtown#
Pinto#
Rawlings#
Spring Gap#
Town Creek*
Frostburg State University*
Allegany College of Maryland*
Allegany County government
