Harford County, Maryland

Harford County is a county located in the northeastern region of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of 2000, the population is 218,590. Its county seat is Bel Air. This county is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.

History

Harford County was formed in 1773 by the splitting of Baltimore County. It contains the Tudor House, birthplace of John Wilkes Booth who assassinated Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Harford County also hosted the signers of the Bush Declaration, a precursor document to the American Revolution.

The county was named for Henry Harford (ca. 1759-1834), illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. Harford was the last Proprietary Governor of Maryland, but did not inherit his father's title because of his illegitimacy.

Joppatowne, now an unincorporated town in Harford County, was once under condideration to be the capital of the United States rather than Washington, D.C.. It was favored for it location at the top of the Chesapeake Bay. This location would facilitate trade while being secure in time of war. Today, the waterways around Joppatowne have been silted, one of the first environmental issues of Harford County.

Environmental History

Harford County has been a hotbed of environmental issues in three major areas: land use, water pollution/runoff, and soil contamination/groundwater contamination. The county's past, present, and future population booms and development have created conflicts between farmers and developers/homeowners wishing to create subdevelopments. The county was one of the first in the country to implement a development envelope plan, in which new development is channeled into specific areas of the county.

Because the county sits at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay along the Susquehanna River, it plays a key roll in controlling sediment and fertilizer runoff into the bay as well as fostering submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) regrowth. The county has had to balance the needs of land owners to practice agriculture and/or pave land (creating impervious surfaces) with effects of runoff into the bay.

Harford County has been burdened by soil contamination and groundwater contamination since the creation of Aberdeen Proving Ground. The military installation performs research for the U.S. Army and has released various chemical agents into soil and groundwater, including mustard gas and perchlorate. The bordering towns of Aberdeen and Edgewood have both been affected by this contamination. Aberdeen Proving Ground contains three superfund priority sites as of 2006. Groundwater contamination by MTBE, a mandatory gasoline additive, has also affected Fallston.

Law and government

Harford County was granted a charter form of government in 1972.The Harford County Government includes the Harford County Public Library service and the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,364 km² (527 mi²). 1,140 km² (440 mi²) of it is land and 224 km² (86 mi²) of it (16.40%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 218,590 people, 79,667 households, and 60,387 families residing in the county. The population density was 192/km² (496/mi²). There were 83,146 housing units at an average density of 73/km² (189/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.77% White, 9.27% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 1.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 79,667 households out of which 38.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,234, and the median income for a family was $63,868. Males had a median income of $43,612 versus $30,741 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,232. About 3.60% of families and 4.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.80% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

two cities:
1. Aberdeen (incorporated 1892)
2. Havre de Grace (incorporated 1785)
one town:
1. Bel Air (incorporated 1872)

Other unincorperated areas include:

Sports

Though there are not any major league teams in the county, they do have a minor league baseball team called the Aberdeen Ironbirds, founded by former Baltimore Orioles player Cal Ripken, who was raised in Aberdeen. Harford County is also home to Kimmy Meissner of Bel Air. Meissner competed in figure skating in the 2006 Winter Olympics as well as having won the World Figure Skating Championships in Calgary, Alberta.

Major sports facilites include:

-Ripken Stadium minor league baseball facility, capacity of 6,200

- Athletic fields at Harford Community College hosted the independent league Aberdeen Arsenal baseball team for one season

- Cesky Field for the Bel Air High School sports teams, capacity of 3,700

- Soccer stadium at Harford Community College, capacity of 1,000

- Gymnasium at Harford Technical High School, capacity of 1,240

Education

For an enitre list of schools see List of Schools in Harford County

Elementary Schools

There are thirty-two elementary schools in Harford County. Homestead-Wakefield, William Paca/Old Post Road and Youth's Benefit Elementary schools are two-building campuses housing primary students (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) in one building and intermediate students (3rd Grade-5th Grade) in the other building.

Middle Schools

There are currently 8 Middle Schools in Harford County, which all run from 8:15 AM to 2:45 PM. Ecept North Harford Middle School which runs from 7:50 to 2:15.

High Schools

There are currently 8 High Schools in Harford County along with one Technical High School, which all run from 7:45 AM to 2:15 PM.

Colleges

There are no major universities in Harford County. The only college is Harford Community College located in Bel Air. Harford Community College is under consideration to be made a satellite campus of the University of Maryland, College Park.

Employment

The single largest employer in Harford County is Aberdeen Proving Ground, with over 11,000 civilian employees. Following the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission of 2005, approximately 5,300 jobs will be moved to Aberdeen Proving Ground within the following decade.

Miscellaneous

The newspaper of record is The Aegis.

External links

Maryland counties | Harford County, Maryland

Condado de Harford (Maryland) | Condado de Harford

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