Mount Savage, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Mount Savage is an unincorporated community
in Allegany County
, Maryland
, United States
. A small blue-collar community, Mount Savage lies at the base of Big Savage Mountain in the Allegheny Mountains
, between the cities of Frostburg
and Cumberland
. It began as a small farming settlement in the mid-19th century, but it was not until 1844 that the region was put on the nation's map with the pressing of the first iron
rail
in the United States. After this claim to fame, Mount Savage became the fifth largest city in Maryland. Named as the headquarters for the Mount Savage Railroad
and later the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
, the area was deemed an industrial center. In addition to the rail businesses, Mount Savage attracted a foundry
, two brick refractories, and several local merchants. In this company town, the industries shaped the economy and topography of Mount Savage, building housing for workers and donating land for schools, churches, and other public buildings. It was a cultural melting pot attracting English businessmen and Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, and German workers. With this diverse mix of cultures, the identity of Mount Savage was molded into a close-knit community. Despite the loss of the industries to the region, Mount Savage continues to celebrate its hard-working traditions. The Mount Savage Historic District
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1983.
, settlers headed west by the thousands, flooding the Cumberland-Mt. Savage area and calling attention to Mt. Savage's mineral wealth.
, which utilized the iron ore that was abundant in the Mt. Savage area. Following the construction of blast furnace
s in 1839, the company built the Mount Savage Railroad
in 1844 to connect the town to Cumberland and with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O). The company produced about 200 tons of iron a week in 1845. The Mount Savage works was the only company in America to manufacture heavy railroad iron at that time. With the flourishing industry upon Mt. Savage, clay
, brick
, coal
and locomotives
were also being manufactured and transported to neighboring towns and states by way of the new railroad system. The most prosperous coal mines were the Eckhart Mines, located right outside Mt. Savage, which produced bituminous coal
. The Mt. Savage railroad system was now the main supplier to the B&O as well as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
. By 1852 the iron works was considered to be the largest in the United States. By 1864, the Union Mining Company was established in Allegany County. This company controlled most of the clay and brick exports. Little Mt. Savage had officially grown into a legendary, American industrial center.
, 0.3% African American
, 0% Native American, 0.2% Asian
, 0% Pacific Islander
, and 0.3% other races
. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.
There were 886 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 23.4% were non-family households. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.94
In Mount Savage the population was spread out with 26.1% below the age of 20, 32.5% from 20 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 and older. The median age was 40. 48.1% of the population was male and 51.9% of the population was female.
In 2000, the median household income was $33,047 and the median household income for a family was $36,791. The median income for a male was $27,829 verses $21,083 for females. The per capita income
for Mount Savage was $16,073. 10.1% of families and 21.% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 year and older.
Cumberland Area Regional Businesses
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Allegany County
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...
. A small blue-collar community, Mount Savage lies at the base of Big Savage Mountain in the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
, between the cities of 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...
and 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...
. It began as a small farming settlement in the mid-19th century, but it was not until 1844 that the region was put on the nation's map with the pressing of the first iron
Iron
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...
rail
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
in the United States. After this claim to fame, Mount Savage became the fifth largest city in Maryland. Named as the headquarters for the Mount Savage Railroad
Mount Savage Railroad
The Mount Savage Railroad was a railroad operated by the Mount Savage Coal and Iron Company of Mount Savage, Maryland between 1845 and 1854. The 14.9 miles rail line ran from Frostburg to Cumberland, Maryland.-History:...
and later 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....
, the area was deemed an industrial center. In addition to the rail businesses, Mount Savage attracted a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, two brick refractories, and several local merchants. In this company town, the industries shaped the economy and topography of Mount Savage, building housing for workers and donating land for schools, churches, and other public buildings. It was a cultural melting pot attracting English businessmen and Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, and German workers. With this diverse mix of cultures, the identity of Mount Savage was molded into a close-knit community. Despite the loss of the industries to the region, Mount Savage continues to celebrate its hard-working traditions. The Mount Savage Historic District
Mount Savage Historic District
The Mount Savage Historic District is a national historic district in Mount Savage, Allegany County, Maryland. It comprises 189 19th and 20th century buildings, structures, and sites within this industrial community northwest of Cumberland...
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.
Early history
The name origin of Mount Savage is derived from a land surveyor, Thomas Savage, who happened to be traveling through the area in 1736. The Archibald Arnold family later settled "Arnold's Settlement," more commonly known today as "Mount Savage," around 1774. The town is the oldest in Allegany County to have a group of the same family to pioneer a town. The Arnolds were known to be Catholic farmers originating from Southern Maryland. The Arnold family settled northeast of the current town, along a Native American Trail which was known as "Turkey Foot Road." The Arnolds established a hotel, "Arnold's Hotel," which welcomed the intrigued pioneers who were heading out west and towards the Ohio River Valley. They also had a self-sustaining farm which became part of the present-day Glen Savage Dairy Farm. The traditional site of the hotel is along an 1804 alteration to the Turkey Foot Road. The Arnold family eventually owned most of the land of the present day Mt. Savage, Archibald sometimes purchasing 1000 acres (4 km²) at a time. Some areas of land that Arnold purchased were documented only as "Move About," "Tomahawk" and "Durbin's Neglect." In the early 19th century Mt. Savage was primarily a self-sufficient farming community with no real need to embark onto enterprises with neighboring towns or industries. Mt. Savage was the only town west of Cumberland with a Catholic church, so many families from neighboring states and towns traveled there for Mass. Upon completion of the National RoadNational Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
, settlers headed west by the thousands, flooding the Cumberland-Mt. Savage area and calling attention to Mt. Savage's mineral wealth.
Industrial history
The Maryland and New York Iron and Coal Company was incorporated in 1837. This important company was established by an Englishman, Benjamin Howell, who was one of the many curious travelers along the National Road. The company built the Mount Savage Iron WorksMount Savage Iron Works
The Mount Savage Iron Works operated from 1839 to 1868 in Mount Savage, Maryland. The ironworks were the largest in the United States in the late 1840s, and the first in the nation to produce heavy rails for construction of railroads. The works were established in an area adjacent to mines for...
, which utilized the iron ore that was abundant in the Mt. Savage area. Following the construction of 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...
s in 1839, the company built the Mount Savage Railroad
Mount Savage Railroad
The Mount Savage Railroad was a railroad operated by the Mount Savage Coal and Iron Company of Mount Savage, Maryland between 1845 and 1854. The 14.9 miles rail line ran from Frostburg to Cumberland, Maryland.-History:...
in 1844 to connect the town to Cumberland and 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). The company produced about 200 tons of iron a week in 1845. The Mount Savage works was the only company in America to manufacture heavy railroad iron at that time. With the flourishing industry upon Mt. Savage, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and locomotives
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
were also being manufactured and transported to neighboring towns and states by way of the new railroad system. The most prosperous coal mines were the Eckhart Mines, located right outside Mt. Savage, which produced bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
. The Mt. Savage railroad system was now the main supplier to the B&O as well as 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...
. By 1852 the iron works was considered to be the largest in the United States. By 1864, the Union Mining Company was established in Allegany County. This company controlled most of the clay and brick exports. Little Mt. Savage had officially grown into a legendary, American industrial center.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 2272 people in 886 households living within the boundaries of Mount Savage. 679 of those were family households. The racial makeup of Mount Savage was 99.1% WhiteWhite American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 0.3% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0% Native American, 0.2% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
, and 0.3% 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...
. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.
There were 886 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 23.4% were non-family households. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.94
In Mount Savage the population was spread out with 26.1% below the age of 20, 32.5% from 20 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 and older. The median age was 40. 48.1% of the population was male and 51.9% of the population was female.
In 2000, the median household income was $33,047 and the median household income for a family was $36,791. The median income for a male was $27,829 verses $21,083 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 Mount Savage was $16,073. 10.1% of families and 21.% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 year and older.
Historic sites and museums
- Mount Savage Museum & Historical Park
- Union Mining Company Office Building
- C&P Railroad Office building
- Remains of the Iron Furnace where the First Iron Rail was Rolled.
See also
- Mount Savage Historic DistrictMount Savage Historic DistrictThe Mount Savage Historic District is a national historic district in Mount Savage, Allegany County, Maryland. It comprises 189 19th and 20th century buildings, structures, and sites within this industrial community northwest of Cumberland...
- Eckhart Mines, MarylandEckhart Mines, MarylandEckhart Mines is an unincorporated town in Allegany County, Maryland, USA. Eckhart Mines lies at the southwestern base of Federal Hill, 2.9 km east of Frostburg and 1.3 km northwest of Clarysville. The town was originally founded as a company town for the nearby Eckhart Mines. The...
Cumberland Area Regional Businesses
Further reading
- Mount Savage Historical Society. "Mount Savage, Maryland: Home of the first iron rail rolled in America"
- Mount Savage Historical Society. "History of Union Mining Company"