Lonaconing, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Lonaconing is a town in Allegany County
, Maryland
, United States
located along the Georges Creek Valley
. It is part of the Cumberland
, MD
-WV
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,205 at the 2000 census.
settlers in the late 18th century were explorers
, hunters and farmers. Names of some of the first settlers were Dye, Duckworth, Green, Fazenbaker, Grove, VanBuskirk, Knapp and Miller. The first stone house built in 1797 in Knapps Meadow just north of Lonaconing was owned by Samuel VanBuskirk. The house still stands as of 2010. The Lonaconing Historic District
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983. Lonaconing is the birthplace of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove
.
and coal
companies in Lonaconing built railroads in the 1840s, in anticipation of connecting with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O) and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
. Some of these mining companies owned and operated their own railroad equipment. The Georges Creek Rail Road was built south from Lonaconing to connect with the Baltimore & Ohio at Piedmont(VA) All of the rail lines were absorbed into the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
(C&P) by 1870.
constructed and operated a blast furnace
in Lonaconing from 1836 to 1855 along with constructing and operating the related Georges Creek Railroad
from 1851 to 1863. The Lonaconing Furnace
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
of 2000, there were 1,205 people, 482 households, and 290 families residing in the town. The population density
was 2,875.8 people per square mile (1,107.7/km²). There were 559 housing units at an average density of 1,334.1 per square mile (513.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.67% White, 0.66% African American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races
, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population. At 16.1 percent Scottish, Lonaconing is the most Scottish town in the United States.
There were 482 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,434, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $27,315 versus $19,423 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $13,890. About 12.8% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
in Frostburg
. The mascot of Westmar Middle School is the Wildcat and school colors are red and gray, coinciding with those of the former Westmar High School.
Georges Creek Elementary was opened in 1975 with the closing of Central School. It combined populations with Barton Elementary in 2000. The school has approximately 380 students. The school colors are orange and black and the tiger
is the mascot.
Allegany County, Maryland
Allegany County is a county located in the northwestern part of the US state of Maryland. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 75,087. Its county seat is Cumberland...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
located along the Georges Creek Valley
Georges Creek Valley
Georges Creek Valley is located in Allegany County, Maryland along the George's Creek. The valley is rich in wide veins of coal, known historically as the "The Big Vein." Coal was once extracted by deep mines but is only mined today through surface mining...
. It is part of the Cumberland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, MD
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
-WV
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,205 at the 2000 census.
History
The first non-Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
settlers in the late 18th century were explorers
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
, hunters and farmers. Names of some of the first settlers were Dye, Duckworth, Green, Fazenbaker, Grove, VanBuskirk, Knapp and Miller. The first stone house built in 1797 in Knapps Meadow just north of Lonaconing was owned by Samuel VanBuskirk. The house still stands as of 2010. The Lonaconing Historic District
Lonaconing Historic District
The Lonaconing Historic District is a national historic district in Lonaconing, Allegany County, Maryland. It comprises 278 buildings and structures consisting of a variety of 19th and early-20th century commercial, industrial, and residential buildings...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983. Lonaconing is the birthplace of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove
Lefty Grove
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove was a professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox, winning 300 games in his 17-year MLB career...
.
Lonaconing Glassware Manufacturers
- 1914-1915: Dugan Glass
- 1914-1918: Lonaconing Glass
- 1919-1929: Utility Glass
- 1930-1934: Lonaconing Cut Glass
Early Mining Railroads
IronIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and coal
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
companies in Lonaconing built railroads in the 1840s, in anticipation of connecting with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
. Some of these mining companies owned and operated their own railroad equipment. The Georges Creek Rail Road was built south from Lonaconing to connect with the Baltimore & Ohio at Piedmont(VA) All of the rail lines were absorbed into the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad was an American railroad which operated in Western Maryland. Primarily a coal hauler, it was owned by the Consolidation Coal Company, and was absorbed into the Western Maryland Railway in 1944....
(C&P) by 1870.
The Lonaconing Furnace (1836-1855)
The Georges Creek Coal and Iron CompanyGeorges Creek Coal and Iron Company
The Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company is a defunct coal mining, iron producer and railroad company that operated in Maryland from 1835 to 1863.-Iron furnace:The company was formed in 1835, and chartered in the state of Maryland on March 29, 1836...
constructed and operated a blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
in Lonaconing from 1836 to 1855 along with constructing and operating the related Georges Creek Railroad
Georges Creek Railroad
The Georges Creek Railroad was a railroad operated by the Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company in Western Maryland. The railroad operated from 1853 to 1863, when it was acquired by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad .- History :...
from 1851 to 1863. The Lonaconing Furnace
Lonaconing Furnace
Lonaconing Furnace, also known as The George's Creek Coal and Iron Company Furnace No. 1, is a historic iron furnace in Lonaconing, Allegany County, Maryland, United States. It is a truncated square pyramid constructed of sandstone, 50 feet high, 50 feet square at the base, and 25 feet square at...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,205 people, 482 households, and 290 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,875.8 people per square mile (1,107.7/km²). There were 559 housing units at an average density of 1,334.1 per square mile (513.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.67% White, 0.66% African American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population. At 16.1 percent Scottish, Lonaconing is the most Scottish town in the United States.
There were 482 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,434, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $27,315 versus $19,423 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $13,890. About 12.8% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.
Geography
Lonaconing is located at 39°33′54"N 78°58′46"W (39.564884, -78.979312).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1 km²), all of it land.
Schools
Westmar Middle School was opened in the fall of 2007 when it was relocated to Lonaconing after the closure of the Westmar Middle School facility in Westernport. Prior to the fall of 2007, the building was occupied by Westmar High School, originally Valley High School, which was established in 1953 and renamed "Westmar" during the 1989-1990 school year, three years after the consolidation of Bruce High School in 1986. Westmar High School closed, vacating the building for future use a middle school, following the 2006-2007 school year after which the populations of Westmar and Beall High schools consolidated into the newly-built Mountain Ridge High SchoolMountain Ridge High School (Frostburg, Maryland)
Mountain Ridge High School is a high school in Frostburg, Maryland, that houses over 1000 students from the Georges Creek Valley, the Greater Frostburg vicinity, and the Westernport region...
in Frostburg
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...
. The mascot of Westmar Middle School is the Wildcat and school colors are red and gray, coinciding with those of the former Westmar High School.
Georges Creek Elementary was opened in 1975 with the closing of Central School. It combined populations with Barton Elementary in 2000. The school has approximately 380 students. The school colors are orange and black and the tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
is the mascot.
See also
Regional Businesses- Big Savage Mountain
External links
- George's Creek Mine payroll, 1906 from Western Maryland Public Libraries
- Tri County Website with Information On Lonaconing