Westminster, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland
, United States
. It is the seat
of Carroll County
. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA
, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA
.
Westminster is known for art today and has many galleries and art related businesses. A large number of artists live in Westminster and the surrounding Carroll County.
cavalry attacked a much larger Confederate
force under General J.E.B. Stuart
.
In April 1865, Joseph Shaw, newspaper editor, had his presses wrecked and his business destroyed, and was subsequently beaten and stabbed to death by four men in Westminster, allegedly because of an anti-Lincoln
editorial that was published the week before the actual assassination. In a later trial at the Westminster Court House the four men were acquitted; the reason cited was "self-defense."
Just north of Westminster is the farm
at which Whittaker Chambers
hid the so-called "pumpkin papers."
A historic marker states that Westminster was the first place in the nation to offer Rural Free Delivery
postal service.
Westminster is the birthplace of Sargent Shriver
(1915–2011), former candidate for Vice President of the United States
and brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy
.
On March 10, 2006, members of the Westboro Baptist Church
picketed the funeral of Matthew A. Snyder who had been killed in the Iraq War. Church members stood on city property adjoining St. John Catholic Church where the funeral took place. Snyder's father sued the church for violating his privacy. The United States Supreme Court in March 2011 ruled in Snyder v. Phelps
that church members had a free speech right to picket.
According to MapQuest
, Westminster is approximately 36.5 miles (58.7 km) driving distance northwest of Baltimore
and 37.5 miles (60.4 km) driving distance southwest of York, Pennsylvania
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), all of it land.
climate zone, with hot humid summers a winters that vary from mild to slightly cold by American standards. Due to its elevation and distance from Chesapeake Bay
, temperatures in Westminster are often considerably lower than in Baltimore
.
On April 16, 2011, a tornado was confirmed to have touched down around 8:00pm EST. A tornado warning was issued to Carroll County residences to take cover immediately.
On July 19, 1996, an F3 (which has wind speeds of 158-206 mph) tornado struck 5.5 miles away from the Westminster city center, injuring three people and causing $5 million in damages.
On April 15, 1952, an F3 tornado hit 15.5 miles away from the city center, injuring four people and causing between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.
of 2000, there were 16,731 people, 6,420 households, and 3,762 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,929.4 people per square mile (1,131.3/km²). There were 6,755 housing units at an average density of 1,182.7 per square mile (456.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.28% White, 5.49% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races
, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.
There were 6,420 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 14.5% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,477, and the median income for a family was $50,879. Males had a median income of $37,186 versus $28,419 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $20,320. About 7.9% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
(CCPS) system enrolls over 28,000 students, which makes it the ninth largest school system in the state of Maryland
. In Carroll County there are seven comprehensive high schools as well as two career and technology centers and an alternative school, The Gateway School. Students in grades 9 through 12 attend one of seven Carroll County high schools. Carroll County has 23 elementary schools and 9 middle schools. In the city of Westminster, there are two high schools, two middle schools and three elementary schools.
Westminster is home to McDaniel College
, a small liberal-arts college, to the Civil Air Patrol
's National Honor Guard Academy, and to Dream Flight School, an institution providing flight lessons at the local airport.
The five largest employers just outside of Westminster in Carroll County are:
is a windmill in Westminster. It stands at the Hashawha Environmental Center.
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...
. It is the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Carroll County
Carroll County, Maryland
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 167,134. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster....
. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA
Baltimore Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget...
, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
.
Westminster is known for art today and has many galleries and art related businesses. A large number of artists live in Westminster and the surrounding Carroll County.
History
On June 29, 1863, the cavalry skirmish known as Corbit's Charge was fought in the streets of Westminster, when two companies of DelawareDelaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
cavalry attacked a much larger Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
force under General J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
.
In April 1865, Joseph Shaw, newspaper editor, had his presses wrecked and his business destroyed, and was subsequently beaten and stabbed to death by four men in Westminster, allegedly because of an anti-Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
editorial that was published the week before the actual assassination. In a later trial at the Westminster Court House the four men were acquitted; the reason cited was "self-defense."
Just north of Westminster is the farm
Whittaker Chambers Farm
The Whitaker Chambers Farm, also known as Pipe Creek Farm, was the home "of Whittaker Chambers, an ex-Communist whose revelations about his past espionage activities with Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, had major political repercussions after World War II...
at which Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
hid the so-called "pumpkin papers."
A historic marker states that Westminster was the first place in the nation to offer Rural Free Delivery
Rural Letter Carrier
Rural letter carriers are United States Postal Service employees who deliver mail in what are traditionally considered rural areas of the United States...
postal service.
Westminster is the birthplace of Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
(1915–2011), former candidate for Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
and brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
On March 10, 2006, members of the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
picketed the funeral of Matthew A. Snyder who had been killed in the Iraq War. Church members stood on city property adjoining St. John Catholic Church where the funeral took place. Snyder's father sued the church for violating his privacy. The United States Supreme Court in March 2011 ruled in Snyder v. Phelps
Snyder v. Phelps
Snyder v. Phelps was a case heard by Supreme Court of the United States on whether the First Amendment protected protests of public protestors at a funeral against tort liability. It involved a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress made by Albert Snyder, the father of Matthew...
that church members had a free speech right to picket.
Geography
Westminster is located at 39°34′36"N 77°0′0"W (39.576551, -77.000120).According to MapQuest
MapQuest
MapQuest is an American free online web mapping service owned by AOL. The company was founded in 1967 as Cartographic Services, a division of R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1969. When it became an independent company in 1994, it was...
, Westminster is approximately 36.5 miles (58.7 km) driving distance northwest of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and 37.5 miles (60.4 km) driving distance southwest of York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
.
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 city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), all of it land.
Climate
Westminster lies in the Humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
climate zone, with hot humid summers a winters that vary from mild to slightly cold by American standards. Due to its elevation and distance from Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, temperatures in Westminster are often considerably lower than in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
Tornado activity
Westminster's historical tornado activity is slightly above the Maryland state average and 38% greater than the overall U.S. average.On April 16, 2011, a tornado was confirmed to have touched down around 8:00pm EST. A tornado warning was issued to Carroll County residences to take cover immediately.
On July 19, 1996, an F3 (which has wind speeds of 158-206 mph) tornado struck 5.5 miles away from the Westminster city center, injuring three people and causing $5 million in damages.
On April 15, 1952, an F3 tornado hit 15.5 miles away from the city center, injuring four people and causing between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages.
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 16,731 people, 6,420 households, and 3,762 families residing in the city. 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 2,929.4 people per square mile (1,131.3/km²). There were 6,755 housing units at an average density of 1,182.7 per square mile (456.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.28% White, 5.49% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.65% 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 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.
There were 6,420 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 14.5% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,477, and the median income for a family was $50,879. Males had a median income of $37,186 versus $28,419 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 city was $20,320. About 7.9% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Carroll County Public SchoolsCarroll County Public Schools (Maryland)
Carroll County Public Schools is a school district based in Westminster, Maryland.CCPS is the ninth largest in the state of Maryland. More than 27,000 students are enrolled in the county's public schools....
(CCPS) system enrolls over 28,000 students, which makes it the ninth largest school system in the state of 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...
. In Carroll County there are seven comprehensive high schools as well as two career and technology centers and an alternative school, The Gateway School. Students in grades 9 through 12 attend one of seven Carroll County high schools. Carroll County has 23 elementary schools and 9 middle schools. In the city of Westminster, there are two high schools, two middle schools and three elementary schools.
Westminster is home to McDaniel College
McDaniel College
McDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College...
, a small liberal-arts college, to the Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force . CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and...
's National Honor Guard Academy, and to Dream Flight School, an institution providing flight lessons at the local airport.
Top employers
According to the City of Westminster, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carroll County Public Schools Carroll County Public Schools (Maryland) Carroll County Public Schools is a school district based in Westminster, Maryland.CCPS is the ninth largest in the state of Maryland. More than 27,000 students are enrolled in the county's public schools.... |
3,757 |
| 2 | McDaniel College McDaniel College McDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College... |
641 |
| 3 | Carroll County Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 167,134. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster.... |
593 |
| 4 | Carroll Lutheran Village Delaware-Maryland Synod The Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the geographical synod consisting of the entire state of Delaware and most of the state of Maryland, with the exception of the counties surrounding Washington, D.C., and extreme western Maryland.With its office in suburban... |
437 |
| 5 | General Dynamics General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has... Robotics Systems |
350 |
| 6 | C.J. Miller | 245 |
| 7 | S.H. Tevis & Son | 238 |
| 8 | BB&T BB&T BB&T Corporation is an American bank with assets of $157 billion , offering full-service commercial and retail banking services along with other financial services like insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international... |
174 |
| 9 | PNC Bank PNC Financial Services PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based financial services corporation, with assets of approximately $264.3 billion... |
171 |
| 10 | Landmark Community Newspapers | 164 |
The five largest employers just outside of Westminster in Carroll County are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carroll Hospital Center Carroll Hospital Center Carroll Hospital Center is a hospital located in Westminster, Maryland.-History:On October 1, 1961, Carroll County General Hospital opened its doors. Originally planned by local citizens in 1957, the hospital had only 50 beds with 125 employees. By the late 1960s, medical needs had increased in the... |
1,696 |
| 2 | Random House Random House Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,... |
800 |
| 3 | Carroll Community College Carroll Community College Carroll County Community College is a 2-year Community college serving the residents of Carroll County, Maryland.- History :Responding to interest expressed by citizens of Carroll County, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners examined the need for additional educational opportunities in the... |
509 |
| 4 | English American Tailoring | 385 |
| 5 | Knorr Brake Knorr-Bremse Knorr-Bremse is a manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 100 years. The company also produces door systems for rail vehicles and torsional dampers. In 2009, the Group's workforce of over 14,000 achieved worldwide sales of EUR 2.761... |
260 |
Tourism
The Hashawha TowerHashawha Tower
Bare Branch Nature Center is a nature center is Westminster, Maryland. It features an aquarium, a planetarium, three permanent telescopes that have been stationed in the parking lot.-History:In 1972, the county purchase the land on which the center is built...
is a windmill in Westminster. It stands at the Hashawha Environmental Center.
Notable residents
- Sargent ShriverSargent ShriverRobert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
, American politician, born in Westminister 9 November 1915. - Theodore E. WoodwardTheodore WoodwardTheodore E. Woodward was an American medical researcher in the field of medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In 1948, he received a Nobel Prize nomination for his role in finding cures for typhus and typhoid fever.-Biography:Born in Westminster, Maryland the son of Lewis K. Woodward,...
, Nobel Prize Nominee, renowned researcher in the field of Medicine* - Robert Bird Brown, a renaissanceman in the art of sports, business, cuisine, and partying
- Clyfford StillClyfford StillClyfford Still was an American painter, and one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism.-Biography:...
, renowned American abstract expressionist painter had a farm nearby
Events
- Carroll County Fair
- Common Ground on the HillCommon Ground on the HillCommon Ground on the Hill is an annual summer festival at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, first held in 1994. Common Ground brings together musicians, artists and craftsmen from many different cultures for the celebration. Over a two week span, Common Ground on the Hill offers a number...
- Maryland Wine Festival
- Art in the Park
Popular culture
- The film For Richer or PoorerFor Richer or PoorerFor Richer or Poorer is a 1997 comedy film starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley. It is rated PG-13 for some sexual innuendo and one use of strong language.-Plot :...
was filmed in Westminster. - In 1997, Linda Fisher aka The Muffin Lady, who made and sold muffins to people and stores in downtown Westminster in an effort to stay off welfare, was shut down by the Carroll County Health Department because she was not using a commercial kitchen. The Westminster Fire Department helped her by offering the use of their catering kitchen. This experience led to a story on Good Morning AmericaGood Morning AmericaGood Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
and the publication of Fisher's cookbook, MUFFIN MAKEOVERS; Recipes and Reflections From Linda Fisher, Rebuilding Her Life One Batch at a Time.
Sister city
-
PaidePaidePaide is the capital of Järva County, Estonia.A castle built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword is located here. The town was formally founded 30 September 1291 by Halt, master of the Livonian Order....
, Järva CountyJärva CountyJärva County , or Järvamaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, Viljandi County to the south, Pärnu County to the south-west, Rapla County to the west, and Harju County to the...
, EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
(since 2002)
External links
- City of Westminster Official local government information.
- Westminster High School
- Winters Mill High School
- Historic Belle Grove Square Neighborhood
- Dream Flight School Sight Seeing Tours/Local Flight School