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Calvert County, Maryland

County in Maryland, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Calvert County, Marylandmap
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Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 92,783.[1] Its county seat is Prince Frederick.[2] 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 included in the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metropolitan statistical area. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula, which is bordered on the east by Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. The county has one of the highest median household incomes in the United States.[3] It is one of the older counties in Maryland, after St. Mary's, Kent, and Anne Arundel Counties. The county is part of the Southern Maryland region of the state.

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History

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Early history

In 1608, Captain John Smith was the first European to sail past what is now Calvert County while exploring the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. On his map, he accurately represented the Patuxent River, as well as several Native-American villages. The area was described as wooded and had been occupied by the Patuxent people, who were overall peaceful to the early Europeans. Their diet was composed of fish from the river and corn cultivated in man-made clearings with a supplement of game from the forests. These clearings were very desirable, and conflict occurred when the settlers attempted to seize these areas from the Native Americans. Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, organized troops of armed men in 1639 to protect the settlers.[4]

The first written mention of European settlers on the northern shore of the Patuxent River is found in the records of the Maryland Assembly in 1642. A Henry Bishop "stood up in the Assembly and exhibited himself as a Burgess of St. Leonard's and pleaded that it be acknowledged as a Hundred" near St. Leonard's Creek. This shows that European settlement along the river and its tributaries had been taking place for several years already.[4]

By 1646, the colonists had spread all along the Patuxent River and along the bay side of Calvert County. Most of the transportation of goods and people took place on the water, as the land was occupied by dense forests. Large creeks were navigated by sailing boats, and plantations used their wharves to ship goods. Ferry services were set up to cross the river and the bay, with rates fixed by law.[4]

Creation of Charles County

The county was originally named Charles County (much larger and unrelated to the present-day Charles County)[5] in 1650 when Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore established it with Robert Brooke as its "Commander". It was named after Charles I of England. At the time, the new county included the current area of Calvert County, as well as the southern and western shores of the Patuxent River up to its headwaters. The county seat was called Calverton (sometimes called Battle Town) and was located on the north shore at the mouth of Battle Creek until 1725.[6] In 1658, the county was renamed Calvert County.[7] It also included all of Prince George's County and parts of Montgomery County.[4]

Puritans coming from Virginia had settled in Anne Arundel County and overflowed into Calvert County. All new settlers in Maryland were required to take an oath of allegiance to Lord Baltimore per the "Conditions of Plantation". This was a major point of tension between the Puritan settlers and Lord Baltimore. The civil war was ongoing in Britain, where the Puritans had gained control. Oliver Cromwell dismissed Parliament there and assumed the role of Lord Protector. In 1652, he sent a force of 750 men to subdue the plantations of the Chesapeake Bay under the new government. Virginia and Maryland surrendered to the Puritans and Robert Brooke cooperated with the Puritans.[4]

On July 3, 1654, Lord Baltimore abolished Charles County and removed all authority from Brooke. He re-established the county as Calvert County with the same territory, but the Puritan Assembly was in power and changed the name to Patuxent County on October 20, 1654, after the Patuxent River and to remove any connection with the Calvert family. The county kept this name under the Puritan regime until 1658, when the name of Calvert County was restored.[4]

According to the local "Trail of Souls Project",[8] in 1860, 4,609 enslaved people and 1,841 free people of color lived there, with a total county population around 10,000 people.[9]

Once made up primarily of farms and tobacco fields, the county's agriculture transformed in the mid-1990s. The prices for tobacco were declining. The State of Maryland instituted a tobacco buyout program, which offered farmers to transition to different crops and away from tobacco; 195 contracts were signed between Calvert County farmers and property owners and the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission. The funds were used for infrastructure and equipment upgrades. Today, the county produces fruits, vegetables, and meat, as well as other crops.[10]

The county has become a fast-growing exurban neighbor of Washington, DC. Many home prices have nearly quadrupled in the past decade, with many four-bedroom homes in the northern half of the county costing over $1,000,000. The popular weekend resort towns of Solomons, Chesapeake Beach, and North Beach are notable.

The county has numerous properties on the National Register of Historic Places.[11]

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Politics and government

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County government

Calvert County is governed by a board composed of five elected county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. They meet in Prince Frederick, the county seat.[12]

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Emergency services

Calvert County Fire, Rescue, and EMS Stations include:

  • Co. 1 - North Beach Volunteer Fire Department
  • Co. 2 - Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department
  • Co. 3 - Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department  
  • Co. 4 - Prince Frederick Volunteer Rescue Squad
  • Co.5 - Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad
  • Co. 6 - Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad
  • Co. 7 - St. Leonard Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad
  • Co. 10 - Calvert Advanced Life Support
  • Co. 12 - Calvert Rescue Dive Team[13]

Until 2018, Calvert County was the only county in Maryland that still had a 100% all-volunteer fire, rescue, and EMS service. On January 20, 2018, the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners approved a phased-in approach of hiring paramedics, starting in fiscal year 2019.[14]

The county also maintains a Sheriff's Office, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office was established in 1654, and is the primary law enforcement agency for Calvert County. The current sheriff is Ricky Cox. The agency is supported by the Maryland State Police, and Maryland Natural Resources Police.[15][16]

National politics

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In the early 19th century, in the contests between the Hamiltonian Federalist and Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican parties of the First Party System, it backed the Federalists four out of seven times, only going for the Democratic-Republicans in their greatest landslides of 1804 and 1816, as well as the 1820 election in which President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed.[18]

In the 1824 election, which began the second party system, the people of Calvert County voted for John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson, who went on to help found the Democratic Party before the 1828 election. Until the Civil War, Calvert County voted only for the candidates of the Whig Party, the Democrat's primary opposition. After that party's dissolution in the early 1850s, it supported the Nativist Know-Nothing party in 1856 and the largely Whiggish Constitutional Union party in 1860.

In the Civil War election of 1864, Calvert swung sharply along with the rest of southern Maryland to give over 90% of the vote to Democratic challenger George McClellan, and again to the Democratic standard-bearer Horatio Seymour four years later. The brief Democratic era was likely due to strong Confederate sympathy in southern Maryland.[19]

In presidential elections, Calvert County has historically and at present leaned strongly towards the Republican Party. It was won by that party in every election from 1884 to 1936 – with the sequence broken in 1940 due to local support for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's efforts at helping Britain in World War II[20] – and in modern times, no Democratic presidential nominee has won Calvert County since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976.

Since then, Calvert County has remained mostly aligned with the Republican Party. It briefly turned in favor of the Democrats in the dealigned 1960s and 70s, after which it became a Republican stronghold in the 1980s. In modern elections, it leans Republican though Democrats have gained votes. President Joe Biden came only 5% from winning the county in 2020,[21] the closest any Democrat has come since Jimmy Carter carried it in 1976.

It is part of the 5th Congressional District, along with much of southern Maryland. The current representative is Democratic former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

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Geography

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Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metropolitan statistical area[23]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 345 square miles (890 km2), of which 132 square miles (340 km2) (38%) are covered by water.[24] It is the smallest county in Maryland by land area and third-smallest by total area. The county also includes five islands: Solomons Island, Broomes Island, Buzzard Island,[25] Hog Island, and Molly's Leg.

The county's coast along the Chesapeake Bay is a long, relatively smooth bight, a feature that is unique in the Chesapeake Bay.

Geology

A geological formation spanning across Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware is named after the county, the Calvert Formation. It is visible within the Calvert Cliffs State Park, where it is exposed in cliffs. Located on the western shore of the county, the Calvert Cliffs are famous for their fossil deposits and are a popular collecting location of marine vertebrates, shark teeth, and birds, as well as freshwater and marine turtles and tortoises. Some crocodile teeth have also been found, which indicates that they may have been nesting in the sands at the time the formation was created.[26]

The county landscape is composed of three platforms - the Talbot Terrace, the Wicomico Terrace, and the Sunderland Terrace (also known as the Ridge). These terraces correspond to three periods where the water level rose and later fell, leaving sand deposits. The oldest was created during the Miocene age, when the entire county peninsula found itself underwater. Marine deposits, clay, and mud containing seashells and fossils were left behind, leading to the Calvert Cliffs seen today after the sea receded and the waves started eroding the deposit. These three terraces are visible in various parts of the county and are most obvious on the bay side where they rise to a height of 100 ft.[4]

Climate

Calvert County lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa) in the Köppen climate classification, with hot, humid summers and mild to chilly winters with plentiful precipitation year-round. In the Trewartha climate classification, the county is classified as oceanic (Do) except in the extreme south, which is Cf. Its proximity to the Chesapeake Bay has a moderating effect on temperatures compared with locales further inland. Average monthly temperatures in Prince Frederick range from 35.9 °F in January to 77.9 °F in July.[27]

Adjacent counties

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Demographics

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2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, 88,737 people, 30,873 households, and 23,732 families were residing in the county.[34] The population density was 416.3 inhabitants per square mile (160.7/km2). The 33,780 housing units had an average density of 158.5 per square mile (61.2/km2).[35] The racial makeup of the county was 81.4% White, 13.4% Black or African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.7% of the population.[34] In terms of ancestry, 19.6% were German, 17.6% were Irish, 13.9% were English, 8.4% were Italian, and 7.4% were American.[36]

Of the 30,873 households, 40.4% had children under 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 23.1% were not families, and 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.23. The median age was 40.1 years.[34]

The median income for a household in the county was $90,838 and for a family was $102,638. Males had a median income of $66,909 versus $49,337 for females. The per capita income for the county was $36,323. About 2.8% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under 18 and 5.3% of those 65 or over.[37]

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.

2000 census

As of the census[38] of 2000, 74,563 people, 25,447 households, and 20,154 families resided in the county. The population density was 346 people per square mile (134 people/km2). The 27,576 housing units had an average density of 128 per square mile (49/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.93% White, 13.11% 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. About 1.52% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

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 age distribution was 29.6% under 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $65,945, and for a family was $71,545 (these figures had risen to $88,989 and $100,229, respectively, as of a 2007 estimate[39]). Males had a median income of $48,664 versus $32,265 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,410. About 3.1% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under 18 and 5.7% of those 65 or over.

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Economy

Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is located on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay at Lusby, as is the Cove Point LNG Terminal.

The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, part of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is located in Solomons.

A branch of the United States Naval Research Laboratory is located at Chesapeake Beach.

The Patuxent River Naval Air Station is located immediately to the south of Calvert County, in St. Mary's County.

Top employers

According to the county's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[40] the top employers in the county are:

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Education

Calvert County is served by Calvert County Public Schools. The county's education system consists of 13 elementary schools, six middle schools, four high schools, a vocational education center, and a variety of other facilities.

Also, one private school, the Calverton School. provides prekindergarten through grade 12 education.[citation needed] Additionally, a private Catholic prekindergarten through grade 8 school, Cardinal Hickey Academy, is located in Owings.[citation needed]

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Transportation

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MD 2/MD 4 southbound in Calvert County

The main artery serving Calvert County is Maryland Route 4 (which begins in Washington, DC, as Pennsylvania Avenue before crossing into Prince George's County and Anne Arundel County, Maryland). Route 4 in Calvert County begins at the northern tip of the county at Lyons Creek, about 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 realigned, 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 three lanes, along with sidewalks added.

Other major roadways in Calvert County include:

  • Maryland Route 231, which travels west from Prince Frederick to the Patuxent River, ultimately crossing the river at the Benedict Bridge into Charles County.
  • Maryland Route 260, which starts at an overpass interchange at the Calvert-Anne Arundel border and travels southeast to Chesapeake Beach. A portion of Route 260 is a four-lane dual highway.
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Communities

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Towns

Census-designated places

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.[41][42]

Unincorporated communities

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Notable people

In popular culture

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.[citation needed] More recently, the Calvert County Sheriff's Department has been featured on several reality television programs, including Speeders on the truTV network, MTV's Busted,[citation needed], and was featured weekly on A&E's Live PD.


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References

Further reading

External links

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