Dundalk, Maryland

History

The area now known as Dundalk was first explored by John Smith in 1608. Up until this time, the area was occupied by the tribes of the Susquehannock Indians.

In 1856 Henry McShane, an immigrant from Ireland, established the McShane Bell Foundry on the banks of the Patapsco River in the then far southeastern outskirts of Baltimore. The foundry later relocated to the Patterson Park area of Baltimore until a fire during the 1940s caused it to move to 201 East Federal Street. In addition to bronze bells, the foundry once manufactured cast iron pipes and furnace fittings. When asked by the Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad for a name of a depot for the foundry, which was on their rail line, McShane wrote Dundalk, after the town of his birth, Dundalk, Ireland. In 1977 the foundry moved to its current location in Glen Burnie.

In 1916 the Bethlehem Steel Company purchased 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) of farmland, near the McShane foundry, to develop housing for its shipyard workers. The Dundalk Company was formed to plan a town in the new style, similar to that of the Roland Park area of Baltimore, excluding businesses except at specific spots and leaving land for future development of schools, playing fields, and parks. By 1917 Dundalk proper was founded, at which point it had 62 houses, two stores, a post office, and a telephone exchange. Streets were laid out in a pedestrian-friendly open grid, with monikers like "Shipway", "Northship", "Flagship", and "Admiral". The two-story houses had steeply pitched roofs and stucco exteriors.

The Dundalk Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.0 km²), of which 13.1 square miles (33.8 km²) is land and 4.3 square miles (11.2 km²), or 24.84%, is water.

Most of Dundalk is flat and very near sea level, with a few small hills close to the city of Baltimore to the west. Dundalk is part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Elevations range from sea level on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay to approximately 40 feet (12 m) above sea level along the northern reaches of Dundalk Avenue and North Point Boulevard.

Bread and Cheese Creek is a tributary of the Back River in Dundalk. The creek is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long, with headwaters in Baltimore City. It flows through Dundalk before emptying into the Back River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed area of the creek is 1.85 square miles (4.8 km²).

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 63,597 people. The racial makeup of Dundalk was 79.2% white, 11.0% African American, 5.0% Hispanic, 1.7% Asian, and 3.1% all other.

There were 24,772 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,789, and the median income for a family was $46,035. Males had a median income of $36,512 versus $25,964 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,543. About 6.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Roads

Some of the major roads in the Dundalk area are:

Public transit

Public transportation between Sparrows Point, Dundalk and Baltimore City was operated by the United Railways and Electric Company's (later the Baltimore Transit Company) #26 streetcar line which ran down the middle of Dundalk Avenue until August 1958. Until the early 1950s, the line carried the famous "Red Rocket" streetcars which were two and three car trains of wooden trolleys. During World War II's rush hours on the line, trains operated on a 30-second headway.

Between 1940 and 1972, bus service in the Dundalk area was provided by Dundalk Bus Lines.

Today, public transportation is provided by the Maryland Transit Administration. MTA lines that serve the area are Routes 4, 10, 23, 26, 31, and 40.

Education

Dundalk contains a campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, known as CCBC-Dundalk. It was formerly known as Dundalk Community College.

For primary and secondary education Dundalk is served by the Baltimore County Public Schools system, with Dundalk High School, Patapsco High School, and Sparrows Point High School being the major high schools to serve the area. Dundalk is also home to Sollers Point Technical High School, one of the only high schools in the country to hold an ISO 9001 certification.

Emergency Services

Dundalk is under jurisdiction of Baltimore County Police Department, North Point (Precinct 12), which is located at 428 Westham Way.

There are multiple fire stations serving within the Dundalk area.

Notable people