Frederick County, Maryland

Updated on Jan 26, 2024

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Founded June 10, 1748 Area code(s) 240, 301 Population 241,409 (2013)		Time zone Eastern (EST) Congressional districts 6th, 8th County seat Frederick

Country United States of America ZIP 21705, 21709, 21714, 21717, 21759, 21762, 21775, 21792 Area 1,730 km² (1,700 km² Land / 19 km² Water) Colleges and Universities Frederick Community College Rivers Monocacy River, Little Pipe Creek, Sams Creek Points of interest National Museum of Civil War, Scheifferstadt, Catoctin Mountain Park, Catoctin Wildlife Preserve, Catoctin Mountain Destinations Frederick, Cunningham Falls State Park, Thurmont, Mount Airy, Greenbrier State Park

Frederick county maryland bicycle adventures

Frederick County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 240,336. The county seat is Frederick.

Map of Frederick County, MD, USA

Frederick County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Like other outlying sections of the Washington metropolitan area, Frederick County has experienced a rapid population increase in recent years. The county is sometimes associated with Western Maryland, depending on the definition used. It borders the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia.

The county is home to Catoctin Mountain Park (encompassing the presidential retreat Camp David) and to the U.S. Army's Fort Detrick. It has also been the home to several celebrated historical figures like Francis Scott Key, Chris Rose, Zach Taylor, Matt Bennett, Thomas Johnson, Roger B. Taney, and Barbara Fritchie.

Etymology

The namesake of Frederick County and its county seat is unknown, but it probably was either Frederick, Prince of Wales or Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore.

History

Frederick County was created in 1748 from parts of Prince George's County and Baltimore County.

In 1776, Frederick County was divided into three parts. The westernmost portion became Washington County, named after George Washington, the southernmost portion became Montgomery County, named after another Revolutionary War general, Richard Montgomery. The northern portion remained Frederick County.

In 1837 a part of Frederick County was combined with a part of Baltimore County to form Carroll County which is east of current day Frederick County.

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

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 667 square miles (1,730 km²), of which 660 square miles (1,700 km²) is land and 7.2 square miles (19 km²) (1.1%) is water. It is the largest county in Maryland in terms of land area.

Frederick County straddles the boundary between the Piedmont Plateau Region and the Appalachian Mountains. The county's two prominent ridges, Catoctin Mountain and South Mountain, form an extension of the Blue Ridge. The Middletown Valley lies between them.

Attractions in the Frederick area include the Clustered Spires, a monument to Francis Scott Key, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Monocacy National Battlefield and South Mountain battlefields, and the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum.

Adjacent counties

Adams County, Pennsylvania (north)

Carroll County (east)

Howard County (southeast)

Franklin County, Pennsylvania (northwest)

Montgomery County (south)

Washington County (west)

Loudoun County, Virginia (southwest)

National protected areas

Catoctin Mountain Park

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (part)

Monocacy National Battlefield

Demographics

Frederick County has experienced a rapid increase in population in recent years, including that of minority groups.

2000 census

The summary statistics for Frederick County from the U.S. Census 2000 are provided to compare and contrast with the more current data from U.S. Census 2010. The following table includes the total persons, sex and self-designated ethnicity based on U.S. Census 2000; additional details are archived at the Maryland State Government website.

2000 CENSUS TOTAL POPULATION: 195,277

Male: 96,079 (49.2%) Female: 99,198 (50.8%)

ETHNICITY AS PERCENT TOTAL POPULATION: White: 176,965 (90.6%) Black or African American: 13,605 (7.0%) American Indian and Alaskan: 1,083 (0.6%) Asian: 4,066 (2.1%) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 156 (0.1%) Some other ethnicity: 2,434 (1.2%) The total (all races) of those self-identifying as Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4%, and those persons who were white alone made up 88.1%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 233,385 people, 84,800 households, and 61,198 families residing in the county. The population density was 353.5 inhabitants per square mile (136.5/km²). There were 90,136 housing units at an average density of 136.5 per square mile (52.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.5% white, 8.6% black or African American, 3.8% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.9% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. The total (all races) of those self-identifying as Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.3%, and those persons who were white alone made up 77.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.3% were German, 17.4% were Irish, 12.1% were English, 7.2% were Italian, and 6.3% were American.

Of the 84,800 households, 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.8% were non-families, and 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age was 38.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $81,686 and the median income for a family was $95,036. Males had a median income of $62,494 versus $46,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,172. About 3.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

2014

The United States Census Bureau estimates Frederick County's population at 245,322, marking a 5.1% increase since 2010. The racial makeup was estimated to be the following in 2014: 75% White (47.0% Non-Hispanic White), 9.7% Black, 4.6% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 2.8% Two or more races, and 8.7% were Hispanic or Latino, of any race.

Law, government, and politics

Until 2014, Frederick County was governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in the state of Maryland.

Charter government

Effective December 1, 2014, Frederick County transitioned to a "charter home rule government". The voters approved this governmental change on the November 6, 2012 election with 62,469 voting for the transition and 37,368 voting against.

A county executive is responsible for providing direction, supervision, and administrative oversight of all executive departments, agencies, and offices. A county council will also be elected, made up of seven members: five based on district and two at-large.

Jan H. Gardner was elected the first Frederick County Executive in 2014.

The members of the first Frederick County Council for the term beginning 2014 are:

The Frederick County State's Attorney, elected November 2, 2010, is Republican Charlie Smith. Smith was reelected in 2014.

The sheriff of Frederick County is Republican Chuck Jenkins.

The Executive Director for the Frederick County Office of Economic Development is Laurie Boyer.

Frederick County's fire and rescue service is handled by a combination career and volunteer service delivery system. Frederick County employs over 300 firefighters. Volunteers of the 26 volunteer fire and rescue corporations number approximately 750 active operational members. Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Medical Services, including Advanced Life Support are handled by both volunteers and the career staff. Frederick County has a Maryland State Police Medevac located at the Frederick Municipal Airport and is designated "Trooper 3". Trooper 3 handles calls all throughout the state, but provides immediate assistance to local police, fire and rescue services.

Politics

In state-level elections, Republicans in Frederick rebounded to more historical levels in the 2010 Maryland Gubernatorial & Senatorial Elections, giving the Republican Ehrlich/Kane ticket 55% to Democrat O'Malley/Brown's 45. Frederick voters also supported Republican Senate challenger Eric Wargotz over incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara A Milkulski by a margin of 51–46, even as Mikulski was winning statewide by a landslide 61-37. Despite its conservative reputation, Frederick County voted in favor of Maryland Question 6, which legalized same-sex marriage in Maryland. In the 2014 Maryland Gubernatorial race Republican Larry Hogan won Frederick County strongly with 63% of the vote compared to Democrat Anthony Brown's 35%

Crime

The following table includes the number of incidents reported for each type of offense.

Economy

The United States Census Bureau has reported the following data for Frederick County.

According to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the following are the principal employers in Frederick County. This list excludes U.S. post offices and state and local governments, but includes public institutions of higher education.

Frederick County leads Maryland in milk production; the county's dairy herds account for one-third of the state's total. However, the dairy market is unstable, and the Frederick County, like the state more broadly, has lost dairy farms.