Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland was named by English colonists after the son of King George II, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. It is built on the site of the mid-18th century Fort Cumberland, the starting point for British General Edward Braddock's ill-fated attack on the French stronghold of Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh) during the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War between the French and the British. (See Braddock expedition.) This area had been settled for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. The fort was developed along the Great Indian Warpath which tribes used to travel the backcountry.

Cumberland also served as an outpost of Colonel George Washington during the French and Indian War, and his first military headquarters was built here. Washington returned as President of the United States in 1794 to Cumberland to review troops assembled to thwart the Whiskey Rebellion.

Map of Braddock's Military Road

During the 19th century, Cumberland was a key road, railroad and canal junction. It became the second-largest city in Maryland after the port city of Baltimore. It was nicknamed "The Queen City".[7] Cumberland was the terminus, and namesake, of the Cumberland Road (begun in 1811) that extended westward to the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. This was the first portion of what would be constructed as the National Road, which eventually reached Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.[7] In the 1850s, many black fugitives reached their final stop on the underground railroad beneath the floor of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church. A maze of tunnels beneath and an abolitionist pastor above provided refuge before the final five mile trip to freedom in Pennsylvania.[8]

The surrounding hillsides were mined for coal and iron ore, and harvested for timber that helped supply the Industrial Revolution. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal had its western terminus here; it was built to improve the movement of goods between the Midwest and Washington, DC, the eastern terminus. Construction of railroads superseded use of the canal, as trains were faster and could carry more freight. The city developed as a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics, tires, and tinplate.

With the restructuring of heavy industry in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states following World War II, the city lost many jobs. As a result, its population has declined by nearly half, from 39,483 in the 1940 census to fewer than 20,000 today.[9][10]

Cumberland is in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians at the junction of the North Branch Potomac River and Wills Creek. The majority of the land within the city lies in a valley created by the junction of these two streams. Interstate 68 runs through the city in an east–west direction, as does Alternate U.S. 40, the Old National Road. U.S. Highway 220 runs north–south. Parts of Wills Mountain, Haystack Mountain, and Shriver Ridge are also within the city limits. Opposite Cumberland along the Potomac River is Ridgeley, West Virginia.

Terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Cumberland. Highway bridge is Interstate 68. Canal Place Museum is the brick building behind bridge.

The abandoned Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is now part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.[7] The canal's towpath is maintained, allowing travel by foot, horse or bicycle between Cumberland and Washington, D.C., a distance of approximately 185 miles (298 km). In recent years, a separate trail/path extension, called the Great Allegheny Passage, has been developed that leads to Pittsburgh as its western terminus. Cumberland is the only city of at least 20,000 residents, outside of the Pittsburgh and DC metro areas, that lies on this combined 300+ mile stretch.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.15 square miles (26.29 km²), of which 10.08 square miles (26.11 km²) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) is water.[11]

A graph showing the population in Cumberland and Allegany County

The median household income $25,142, and the median family income was $34,500. Males had a median income of $29,484 versus $20,004 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,813. About 15.3% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.4% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over. The Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked 305th out of 318 metropolitan areas in per capita income.[6]

In 2007, Forbes ranked the Cumberland Metro as having the 6th-lowest cost of living in the US, based on an index of cost of housing, utilities, transportation and other expenditures.[16]

In 2007, The Baltimore Sun newspaper, citing the National Association of Realtors figures on home prices, stated that while most areas were stagnant, Cumberland home prices were rising by more than 17%, the highest in the country.[17] In July 2007, The Washington Post writer Stephanie Cavanaugh wrote that the great quality of living in Cumberland had attracted many urbanites to the area.[18]

Population trends

Population decline from 1950 to 1990 was due to a string of industrial plant closures. Plants such as Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Allegany Munitions and Celanese closed down and relocated as part of widespread industrial restructuring after WWII. The 1987 closure of the Kelly Springfield Tire Plant marked a turning point, as it was the last major manufacturing plant in the city limits to close its doors.

The population of the city has continued to decline since 1990, with the 2010 census population of 20,859 the lowest since the 1900 census.

The top employers in Cumberland are as follows.

Cumberland's has Council–manager government composed of an elected mayor, four elected city council members, and an appointed city administrator. Cumberland's current mayor is Ray Morriss, who was elected in 2018 after defeating two-term incumbent Brian Grim.[25] The current city council members are Eugene T. Frazier, Richard J. "Rock" Cioni, Laurie P. Marchini, and Joseph P. George.[26] The city council holds public meetings twice per month.[27]

In fiscal year 2021, the city government recognized $46.4 million in revenue, and it incurred $42.2 million of expenses.[1] During that period, the city government employed 234 people.[1]

In the Maryland Senate, Cumberland is represented by George C. Edwards.[28] In the Maryland House of Delegates, Cumberland is represented by Michael W. McKay.[29]

Federally, Cumberland is in Maryland's 6th congressional district and is represented in the United States Congress by Representative David Trone and Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.

In 1864 the state legislature provided funds, and a structure for obtaining local funds from taxes and private donations for the purpose of funding schools for Negroes. The first public school for African-Americans in Cumberland operated in a colored YMCA on Independence Street, and was named the Mary Hoye school. In 1923 a new school for blacks was built on Frederick Street. In 1941 an election was held of students and faculty, and the school was renamed George Washington Carver School. In addition to serving the local population, many black people from surrounding areas in West Virginia sent their children to Carver because of the inadequate local facilities.[30] The schools were integrated in 1955, when 54 African American children attended the white schools. In 1956, 3 black students became the first to graduate from Allegany County's newly integrated schools.[31]

The offices of Allegany County Public Schools are located in Cumberland. The city is served by Allegany High School and Fort Hill High School, the private Bishop Walsh School, The Center for Career and Technical Education of Allegany County, Calvary Christian Academy, and Lighthouse Christian Academy,[32] and elementary schools such as Cresaptown Elementary School, South Penn Elementary School, Northeast Elementary School, John Humbird, and Cash Valley Elementary School.

Approximately 39,000 people hold library cards in Allegany County, with libraries such as Washington Street Library and Lavale Public Library and several others.

Cumberland has several media outlets; most carry some form of satellite programming. WCBC-AM and WFRB-FM have some local news content, but do not have reporters collecting it. The closest public radio station is WFWM, at Frostburg, Maryland. Allegany Magazine is a recent media addition. The Cumberland Times-News is the area's daily newspaper.

The webcomic The Adventures of Dr. McNinja by Christopher Hastings is set in part in a fictionalized version of Cumberland.[33]

• Tapa, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia
• Viljandi, Estonia[34]

• Federal Correctional Institution, Cumberland

• Will H. Lowdermilk, History of Cumberland, first published 1878, reprinted by Clearfield Co., October 1997, Paperback, ISBN 0-8063-7983-9. Full Text Online
• Amanda Paul, Tom Robertson, Joe Weaver, Cumberland, Arcadia Publishing, Copyright Oct 1, 2003, Paperback, ISBN 0-7385-1498-5
• Joseph H Weaver, Cumberland, 1787-1987: A Bicentennial History, Published by the City of Cumberland and the Cumberland Bicentennial Committee, January 1, 1987, ASIN B0007165K6
• Mike High, The C&O Canal Companion, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8018-6602-2
• Mark D. Sabatke, Discovering The C&O Canal, Schreiber Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1-887563-67-9
• Allan Powell, Fort Cumberland, Publisher Allan R Powell, 1989, ISBN 0-9619995-2-7
• Albert L Feldstein, Feldstein's Historic postcard album of Allegany County, Commercial Press Print. Co, 1984, ASIN B0006YQW5C
• Albert L. Feldstein, Feldstein's Historic Coal Mining and Railroads of Allegany County, Maryland, Publisher Albert L Feldstein, 2000, ISBN 0-9701605-0-X (This book consists of 135 historic Allegany County, Maryland coal mining and railroad-related photographs. These are primarily from the early 20th century. Accompanying each depiction is a historical narrative with facts, figures, dates and other information. Included within this number are 23 biographies of individuals associated with the history of coal mining in the region.)
• Albert L. Feldstein, Allegany County (Images of America: Maryland), Arcadia Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0-7385-4381-0 (features Allegany's towns and communities, downtown business scenes, residential areas, industries, historic buildings, churches, schools, hospitals, floods, parades, coal mining, railroad stations, and historic and natural landmarks. In some cases, the personal messages sent on the back of the postcards are included.)
• Census of population and housing (2000): Maryland Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Summary, DIANE Publishing, ISBN 1-4289-8582-4
• Patrick H. Stakem, Cumberland, Then and Now, Arcadia Publishing, 2011, ISBN 978-0738586984
• James W. Bishop, The Glass Industry of Allegany County, Maryland, 1968, Commercial Press Printing, Cumberland, Maryland.
• Cumberland, A Hometown History, Allegany County High School, Social Studies Department, 2008, Cumberland, Maryland
• J. Thomas Scharf, History of Western Maryland, Vol. 1 & 2, ISBN 0832838764.
• Albert L. Feldstein, Downtown Cumberland 1950–1980. 1994, Cumberland, MD: Commercial Press, ASIN: B000JVCJAO
• Albert Feldstein, The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City, 2009, The History Press, ISBN 1596296887
• J. William Hunt, The Story of Cumberland, Maryland, 1965, Allegany County Historical Society, Cumberland, MD

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumberland, Maryland.

Look up Cumberland in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Cumberland (Maryland).

• Official website
• Downtown Cumberland Business Association
• "Cumberland, Md." . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.
• Cumberland, Maryland at Curlie
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cumberland US Geological Survey
• History of Cumberland, Maryland