User:Kaylawright23/sandbox

Cecil County, Maryland
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,108. The county seat is Elkton. The county was named for Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore(1605–1675), the first Proprietary Governor of the Province (colony) of Maryland. It is the only Maryland county that is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cecil County has existed since the late 1600s, though it continued to grow in population and town size.

Politics, Government, & Law
In the early post-Civil War period, Cecil County, having been generally pro-secession, leaned strongly towards the Democratic Party. It was carried by the Democratic Party nominee in every Presidential election between 1868 and 1920 except that of 1896 when the Northeast was vigorously opposed to William Jennings Bryan’s “free silver” policy. Since Dwight Eisenhower carried the county in 1952, Cecil County has become a solidly Republican county. The last Democrat to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Prior to December 3, 2012, Cecil County was governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. On that date, Cecil County began governance under a new charter approved via voter referendum in November 2010, which authorized an elected County Executive and a five-member County Council, which separates the legislative and executive functions of local government (unlike the old "board of commissioner" system). Cecil County thus joined most of the other larger, increasingly urban and complex county governments in central Maryland with county executive-county council forms (such as Baltimore, Harford, Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's, and Montgomery counties). Elected on November 8, 2016, Alan McCarthy (R) is the current County Executive.

Education
There are 17 elementary schools, six middle schools, five high schools, and the Cecil County School of Technology all operated by Cecil County Public Schools.

Cecil College has four campuses in Cecil County.

Libraries
There are 7 branches of the Cecil County Public Library and the Library also does significant outreach throughout the county.

Crime Rates
The 2017 census accounted a population of 102,746 people. On a scale of one, being low crime, to 100, being high crime, here are statistics comparing Cecil County’s crime rates to US crime averages. In regards to violent crime, which includes murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, the rates was 40.8 compared to the U.S. average of 31.1 .In property crime, including offenses being burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson, the rate is 39.3 compared to the U.S. average of 38.1.

Important People

 * John Smith, (1580-1631), the first white man to explore what is now known as Cecil County
 * William Paca, (1740-1799), a Statesman and Revolutionary War leader, served Continental Congress and was later the Governor of Maryland, signer of the Declaration of Independence
 * George Read, (1733-1798), judge and Revolutionary War Statesman, served as a member of 2nd Continental Congress, later became a US Senator and Delaware State Chief Justice
 * Robert Alexander, born in Cecil County, delegate to the Continental Congress
 * John Andrews, (1746–1813), professor and clergyman
 * Robert Somers Brookings, founder of the Brookings Institution
 * David Davis, Associate Supreme Court Justice
 * Levi Davis, Illinois State Auditor and lawyer