Calvert County, Maryland

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Calvert County, Maryland
County
Calvert County
Flag of Calvert County, Maryland
Flag
Seal of Calvert County, Maryland
Seal
Map of Maryland highlighting Calvert County
Location in the U.S. state of Maryland
Map of the United States highlighting Maryland
Maryland's location in the U.S.
Founded 1654
Named for Calvert family
Seat Prince Frederick
Largest town Chesapeake Beach
Area
 • Total 345 sq mi (894 km2)
 • Land 213 sq mi (552 km2)
 • Water 132 sq mi (342 km2), 38%
Population
 • (2010) 88,737
 • Density 416/sq mi (161/km²)
Congressional district 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.co.cal.md.us

Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 88,737.[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, DC-VA-MD-WV 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.

Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. The county has one of the highest median household incomes in the United States.[3]

History

First settled as part of Charles County (much larger than the present-day Charles County) around 1650,[4] it was renamed. Patuxent County was established in 1654 by an Order in Council.[5] In 1658 the county was renamed Calvert County.[6] 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 has become 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 of Solomons, Chesapeake Beach, and North Beach are notable.

The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

Law and government

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Calvert County is governed by a group of five county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in the state of Maryland.

Board of County Commissioners
Position Name Affiliation District
  President Steven R. Weems Republican At Large
  Vice President Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. Republican 3
  Commissioner Mike Hart Republican 1
  Commissioner Tom Hejl Republican At-Large
  Commissioner Pat Nutter Republican 2

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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 345 square miles (890 km2), of which 213 square miles (550 km2) is land and 132 square miles (340 km2) (38%) is water.[8] It is the smallest county in Maryland by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Climate

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.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1790 8,652
1800 8,297 −4.1%
1810 8,005 −3.5%
1820 8,073 0.8%
1830 8,900 10.2%
1840 9,229 3.7%
1850 9,646 4.5%
1860 10,447 8.3%
1870 9,865 −5.6%
1880 10,538 6.8%
1890 9,860 −6.4%
1900 10,223 3.7%
1910 10,325 1.0%
1920 9,744 −5.6%
1930 9,528 −2.2%
1940 10,484 10.0%
1950 12,100 15.4%
1960 15,826 30.8%
1970 20,682 30.7%
1980 34,638 67.5%
1990 51,372 48.3%
2000 74,563 45.1%
2010 88,737 19.0%
Est. 2014 90,613 [9] 2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2013[1]

2010

The ethnic makeup of the country, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, was the following:

2000

As of the census[14] 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[15]). 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.

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 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[16] 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

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, vocational education center, and a variety of other facilities.

Transportation

The main artery serving Calvert County is Maryland Route 4 (which begins in Washington, D.C. as Pennsylvania Avenue before crossing into Prince George's 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:

Communities

Towns

Census-designated places

The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county:

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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.[17][18]

Unincorporated communities

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Notable residents

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 and MTV's Busted.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

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  3. Highest-income counties in the United States#Counties with populations 65,000-250,000
  4. Arnett, pp 92, discusses role of Robert Brooke, Sr.
  5. Calvert County Guide states that it was the Puritans, who named it for an Indian word meaning "place where tobacco grows"
  6. Maryland Online Encyclopedia Calvert County
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  15. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US51179&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US51%7C05000US51179&_street=&_county=calvert&_cityTown=calvert&_state=04000US24&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
  16. Calvert County, Maryland Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, for the Year ended June 30, 2009
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  19. http://www.urhome.umd.edu/CPMAG/summer01/franklin.html

References

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External links

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