User:E.Kassel/sandbox



Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that traditionally consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties, with western portions of Frederick County also associated with the area. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the eastern boundary of Western Maryland. For most residents of the Baltimore-Washington area, everything west of Frederick city is considered Western Maryland. However, the people of the more mountainous and isolated Allegany County and Garrett County consider Sideling Hill the boundary between Western Maryland and what they refer to as "down-state."

Western Maryland is much more rural than the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, where most of the state's population lives; even Frederick and Washington counties are less urbanized than places closer to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Many people still perform a variety of subsistence agriculture for their food needs, and there are relatively few towns larger than 10,000 people. Western Maryland is noted for its idyllic rural landscapes in its eastern portion and the mountainous terrain in Allegany and Garrett counties. The area is generally regarded as part of Appalachia, with the extreme western section having more of an affinity to Pittsburgh than the rest of the state. Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties are part of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Garrett County, the state's westernmost county, largely aligns itself through marketing and sports with West Virginia and the Pittsburgh area rather than Maryland.

The climate of Western Maryland is more akin to the mountains of northern West Virginia than to any other part of Maryland. Summers tend to be much cooler than in the rest of the state, and winters harsher. Temperatures in winter often drop to near or below 0 F (-18°C), and snowfall averages from 20 inches farther east to over 120 inches in the higher elevations. Comparably, Prince George's County, in the eastern part of the Washington, D.C. area, averages only 25 inches of snow and wintertime temperatures many times exceed 50 F (10°C).

History
In 1748, the Western Maryland population was finally large enough to create a new county called Frederick County. Hunters and traders had been in Western Maryland as early as 1715, but there were not many attempts at settlements for years after that in more remote parts of the area. 1768 had many emigrants that began to settle in the Western Maryland, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia areas. In the earliest part of the colonial days, German immigrants that came from Pennsylvania had the most influence on the development of the plains and valleys of Western Maryland.

The most western county in the state, Garrett County, was the last part of Maryland to be settled in 1764. The county was founded in 1872 by John Work Garrett, the B&O Railroad president.

In 1785, the city of Cumberland, which is in Allegany County, was established. The County was the home for many pioneers, when they would travel through the Cumberland Narrows, a 1,000 foot high gap. This gap forms the main pass through the Allegheny Mountains to the west. In the mid-18th century, English settles came to the county and began to mine and create towns and farms. This county was important for transportation for many travelers heading west. They would pass through by many forms of transportation, including canal, train, and horse and buggy.

Named for George Washington, Washington County was founded in 1776. In 1862 during the civil war, this county was home to one of the bloodiest single-day battles at Antietam National Battlefield. The largest city in this county is Hagerstown. It was named after Jonathan Hager, a German settler.

Geography
The Western Maryland region consists of the four most western counties in Maryland. It is approximately 120 miles and stretches from eastern Frederick County to western Garrett County.

The largest lake in Western Maryland is Deep Creek Lake and located in Garrett County. The 4,000 acre body of water is owned by the State of Maryland and is man made. They began construction in 1920, and were able to fill the lake by 1929. It was originally made to power a small scale hydroelectric plant, but was eventually turned into a tourist destination. The lake is currently managed for boating and fishing, although it still provides some water to generate electricity. The Deep Creek Lake State Park offers fishing piers, beach and swim area, covered pavilions, and opportunities for camping.

ALLEGANY COUNTY

 * Breakneck Hill (1,872 ft.)
 * Collier Mountain (1,460 ft.)
 * Dans Mountain (2,898 ft.)
 * Evitts Mountain (1,959-2,260 ft.)
 * Martin Mountain (1,974 ft.)
 * Nicholas Mountain (1,760 ft.)
 * Polish Mountain (1,783 ft.)
 * Ragged Mountain (1,740 ft.)
 * Town Hill (2,039 ft.)
 * Warrior Mountain (2,185 ft.)
 * Wills Mountain (1,960+ ft.)”

GARRETT COUNTY

 * Backbone Mountain (3,360 ft.)
 * Big Savage Mountain (2,991 ft.)
 * Blossom Hill (2,620 ft.)
 * Contrary Knob (2,680 ft.)
 * Conway Hill (2,760 ft.)
 * Dung Hill (2,732 ft.)
 * Elbow Mountain (2,694 ft.)
 * Elder Hill (2,826 ft.)
 * Fort Hill (2,600 ft.)
 * George Mountain (3,004 ft.)
 * Lewis Knob (2,960 ft.)
 * Little Mountain (2,920 ft.)
 * Little Savage Mountain (2,817 ft.)
 * Marsh Hill (3,073 ft.)
 * Meadow Mountain (2,959 ft.)
 * Mount Nebo (2,604 ft.)”
 * Negro Mountain (3,075 ft.)
 * Pine Hill (2,500 ft.)
 * Rich Hill (2,842 ft.)
 * Ridgley Hill (2,617 ft.)
 * River Hill (2,700 ft.)
 * Roman Nose Mountain (3,140 ft.)
 * Roth Rock Mountain (2,860 ft.)
 * Salt Block Mountain (2,707 ft.)
 * Snaggy Hill (3,040 ft.)
 * Walnut Hill (2,629 ft.)
 * Winding Ridge (2,775 ft.)
 * Whites Knob (2,940 ft.)
 * Zehner Hill (3,000 ft.)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

 * Fairview Mountain (1,690 ft.)
 * Hearthstone Mountain (2,021 ft.)
 * Johnson Mountain (1,120 ft.)
 * Powell Mountain (1,548 ft.)
 * Quirauk Mountain (2,140 ft.)
 * Rickard Mountain (1,480 ft.)
 * Roundtop Hill (1,388 ft.)
 * Short Hill (1,080 ft.)
 * Sword Mountain (1,530+ ft.)
 * Sideling Hill (1,760 ft.)
 * South Mountain (1,772 ft.)

Demographics
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the three westernmost counties of Maryland have a population of 252,614, accounting for 4.4% of the population of Maryland.

The most populated county is Washington County, which has an approximated 147,430 people. Allegany County is the next most populated county with 75,087 people, and Garrett County is the smallest with 30,097 people.

Appalachian Development Plan
The Appalachian Regional Development Act was created and passed in 1965 in an effort to correct the poverty issue, and the growing economic problems in the Appalachian region (13 States). According to the State of Maryland Appalachian Development Plan, there are three main reasons for this Act to take place:
 * One in every three Appalachians lived in poverty
 * Per capita income was 23% less than the US average
 * High unemployment and harsh living conditions had, in the 1950s, forced more than 2 million Appalachians to leave their homes and seek work in other regions.

For the state of Maryland, this act was intended to bring awareness to the poverty levels of the Western Maryland counties. The program that was developed for this act was called the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and current governor Martin O'Malley was appointed to be the Maryland representative in 1971. The main goal of the ARC was to improve the development of the economy, and bring this region into socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation.

Colleges and Universities
Colleges in Western Maryland include:
 * Garrett College - Community College

Agriculture Economy
Western Maryland has a heavily agricultural economy. Its best-known crops are the apples grown in the Cumberland Valley, but corn, potatoes, beans, and varieties of green-leaf vegetables are grown as well. Mixed crop and livestock farms are common, and the region has a large number of dairy cattle farms. There is however, a thriving tourist industry, and places such as Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County are frequented by many visitors every year. Garrett County is also well known for its numerous state parks and outdoor activities. Maryland's only ski resort, Wisp Ski Resort, is located in Garrett County near Oakland.

Tourism
Tourism is very important to Western Maryland and railroads were a big part of that in the 19th century. From the University of Maryland Overview of Western Maryland, “Tourism, second home development, and retirement housing have the potential for significant growth. Second home development is particularly noticeable in the Deep Creek Lake recreational area of Garrett County, but the arrival of retirees from more metropolitan counties has been noted in several of the counties.”

Wisp Ski Resort is a huge tourism spot in Western Maryland as it is the only 4 season ski, golf, and recreational destination resort. This resort is approximately 172 acres which includes a mountain coaster, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and more.

Potential state
In 2014, it was reported that some residents want the region to form a new state. Possible names for such a proposed state include Liberty, Antietam, and Augusta.

Major communities

 * Boonsboro
 * Brunswick
 * Cumberland
 * Frostburg
 * Hagerstown
 * Hancock
 * Middletown
 * Mountain Lake Park
 * Oakland
 * Smithsburg
 * Westernport
 * Williamsport

History
The original Appalachian League only existed for four seasons from 1911-1914 and no teams had any MLB affiliation (Independent teams). The teams that were a part of this were: Asheville (NC) Moonshiners, Bristol (VA) Boosters, Cleveland (TN) Counts, Johnson City (TN) Soldiers, Knoxville Appalachians, and Morristown (TN) Jobbers.

The second Appalachian League existed for five seasons from 1921-1925, and again only had independent teams. These teams were the Bristol State-Liners, the Cleveland Manufacturers, the Greeneville (TN) Burley Cats, the [second iteration of the] Johnson City Soldiers, the Kingsport (TN) Indians, and the Knoxvlle Pioneers. [1921 was the first appearance of 2 locations which have present-day teams [2013] in the Appalachian League – Kingsport, Tennessee, with the present-day Kingsport Mets (NYM); and Greeneville, North Carolina, with the presnt-day Greeneville Astros (HOU).].

The third Appalachian league was shifted to D-level minor league, the lowest level in the pre - 1963 MLB. It started in 1937 and had four teams - the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox (BOS-AL), the [third iteration of the] Johnson City Soldiers (Independent), the Newport (TN) Canners (Independent), and the Pennington Gap (VA) Lee Bears (Independent).

Attendance
The Appalachian League is one of two rookie class leagues that have their attendance measured, and are also considered to be an Advanced Rookie League. The other League is the Pioneer League.

According to the Official Site of the Rookie Appalachian League, these are the 2013 Attendance Statistics: