MARYLAND MY MARYLAND MARYLAND CITIES CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND

Cumberland (Please view this video)

The Queen City is a jewel on the mountains! Rich with history and beginning point of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

Cumberland is a city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland, United States. It is 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 population of 103,299. Located on the Potomac River, Cumberland is a regional business and commercial center for Western Maryland and the Potomac Highland.

Country United States State Maryland County Allegany Founded 1787 Incorporated 1815 Government

• Type Council-CEO 

• Mayor Raymond Morriss (R) 

• City administrator Jeff Rhodes (I)

(Appointed January 2012) 

• City Council Seth D. Bernard (D)

Richard J. Cioni (D)

Eugene T. Frazier (D)

Laurie Marchini (R)Area

• City 10.12 sq mi (26.21 km2) 

• Land 10.05 sq mi (26.04 km2) 

• Water 0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2) Elevation

627 ft (191 m) Population (2010)

• City20,859 

• Estimate (2019)

19,284 

• Density 1,918.04/sq mi (740.59/km2) 

• Metro103,299 

• Demonym

Cumberlander Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) 

• Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)  ZIP codes

21501-21505

Area code(s) 301, 240FIPS code24-21325GNIS feature ID 0590057 Website www.ci.cumberland.md.us

Historically Cumberland was known as the "Queen City", as it was once the second largest in the state. Because of its strategic location on what became known as the Cumberland Road through the Appalachians, after the American Revolution it served as a historical outfitting and staging point for westward emigrant trail migrations throughout the first half of the 1800s. In this role, it supported the settlement of the Ohio Country and the lands in that latitude of the Louisiana Purchase. It also became an industrial center, served by major roads, railroads, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which connected Cumberland to Washington, D.C. and is now a national historical park. Today, Interstate 68 bisects the town.

The industry declined after World War II, which led much of the later urban, business and technological development in the state has been concentrated in eastern coastal cities. Today the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area is one of the poorest in the United States, ranking 305th out of 318 metropolitan areas in per capita income.

History.

Cumberland was named by English colonists after the son of King George II, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. It is built on the site of the mid-18th century Fort Cumberland, the starting point for British General Edward Braddock's ill-fated attack on the French stronghold of Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh) during the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War between the French and the British. (See Braddock expedition.) This area had long been settled for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. The fort was developed along the Great Indian Warpath which tribes used to travel the backcountry.

Cumberland also served as an outpost of Colonel George Washington during the French and Indian War, and his first military headquarters was built here. Washington returned as President of the United States in 1794 to Cumberland to review troops assembled to thwart the Whiskey Rebellion.

During the 19th century, Cumberland was a key road, railroad and canal junction. It became the second-largest city in Maryland after the port city of Baltimore. It was nicknamed "The Queen City". Cumberland was the terminus, and namesake, of the Cumberland Road (begun in 1811) that extended westward to the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. This was the first portion of what would be constructed as the National Road, which eventually reached Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In the 1850s, many black fugitives reached their final stop on the underground railroad beneath the floor of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church. A maze of tunnels beneath and an abolitionist pastor above provided refuge before the final five mile trip to freedom in Pennsylvania.

The surrounding hillsides were mined for coal and iron ore, and harvested for timber that helped supply the Industrial Revolution. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal had its western terminus here; it was built to improve the movement of goods between the Midwest and Washington, DC, the eastern terminus. Construction of railroads superseded use of the canal, as trains were faster and could carry more freight. The city developed as a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics, tires, and tinplate.

With the restructuring of heavy industry in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states following World War II, the city lost many jobs. As a result, its population has declined by nearly half, from 39,483 in the 1940 census to fewer than 20,000 today.

In popular culture

The webcomic The Adventures of Dr. McNinja by Christopher Hastings is set in part in a fictionalized version of Cumberland.

In the original classic horror movie by George A. Romero, "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), Cumberland was mentioned in the movie's radio broadcasts as the source for early information on the dawning zombie attacks.

Notable Landmarks.

Some of Cumberland's most architecturally significant homes are located in the Washington Street Historic District. Considered the elite residential area when the city was at its economic peak, Washington Street was home to the region's leading citizens including the president of the C&O Canal. Significant public buildings include the Allegany County Courthouse, Allegany County Library, and Emmanuel Episcopal Church, located on the site of Fort Cumberland. It features Gothic Revival architecture with three large Tiffany windows, fort tunnels, and ammunition magazine cellars.

The 1850 Emmanuel Episcopal Church, standing at the eastern end of the Washington Street Historic District, is one of Maryland's most outstanding examples of early Gothic Revival architecture. The Allegany County Courthouse dominates the city's skyline. It was designed in 1893 by local architect Wright Butler. The Queen City Hotel was built by the B&O during the 1870s. The battle to preserve it was lost when the building was demolished in 1972. Temple B'er Chayim's 1865 Gothic Revival building is one of the oldest surviving synagogue buildings in the United States.

Also of note are the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Terminus at Canal Place, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland, the Allegany Arts Council, Rocky Gap State Park, Cumberland Narrows along Wills Creek, on Alternate U.S. 40.

Notable People

This is a list of people from Cumberland, Maryland.

Frederick John Bahr (1837–1885) – immigrant from Baden, Germany; bought Wills Mountain, including the narrows and Lovers Leap, to avoid the encroachment of the Civil War, settled there with his family in a cabin on the top of the mountain

Rod Breedlove (born 1938) – former football linebacker, played eight seasons in the National Football League with the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1960–1967

Earle Bruce (1931–2018) – football player and coach, most notably a head coach at Ohio State. Inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame

Wright Butler – architect of Allegany Courthouse

Harry Clarke (1916–2005) – football player, two touchdowns in 1940 NFL Championship Game in Chicago Bears' 73–0 victory over Washington Redskins

Kia Corthron (born 1961) – playwright, screenwriter; attended Allegany High School

J. V. Cunningham (1911–1985) – poet, writer, and professor for Stanford University; born in Cumberland[1]

James Deetz (1930–2000) – father of historical archeology

Eddie Deezen (born 1957) – comic and voice actor

Jane Frazier – lived in a log house built in 1754 just outside Cumberland; was captured by Indians; a Frazier family member wrote a book about the incident, Red Morning

Patrick Hamill (1817–1895) – U.S. Congressman for Maryland's 4th District 1869–1871; buried in Odd Fellow's Cemetery

Drew Hankinson (born 1983) – professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under name of Luke Gallows

Christopher Hastings (born 1983) – comic artist and creator of The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, set in a fictional version of Cumberland

Tom Hull (born 1952) – linebacker who played two seasons in National Football League with San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers in 1974 and 1975

Indian Will – well-known Native American who lived in a former settlement of the Shawnee Indians at the site of present-day Cumberland in the 18th century; namesake of Wills Creek and Wills Mountain

William Harrison Lowdermilk (1839–1897) – Union soldier, printer, and newspaper publisher

Donnie Izzett (born 1975) - missing Frostburg State University student

William H. Macy (born 1950) – actor; attended Allegany High School, was junior and senior class president

Samuel Magill – established the first newspaper in Cumberland, the Allegany Freeman, published weekly, 1813–1816

Edward Mallory (1930–2007) – TV actor, director, drama professor

Mark Manges (born 1956) – quarterback for University of Maryland, College Park (1974–77); appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in October 1976

John Van Lear McMahon (1800–1871) – Maryland legislator and historian

Kelly L. Moran (born 1960) – author of book Shelley Chintz, 2001;[5] designer and builder of the Stone Cottage; attended Bruce High School

Edward Otho Cresap Ord (1818–1883) – born in Cumberland; designer of Fort Sam Houston; a U.S. Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War

Sam Perlozzo (born 1951) – former Major League Baseball player; former manager of the Baltimore Orioles (2005–2007); attended Bishop Walsh High School

Bruce Price (1845–1903) – architect of Cumberland Emmanuel Church

Francis Xavier Seelos (1819–1867) – pastor of SS. Peter & Paul's Catholic Church, 1857–1862, beatified by the Vatican in 2000 (final stage of canonization process)

Russell Shorto (born 1959) – author of The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America and Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City

Casper R. Taylor, Jr (born 1934) – Member of House of Delegates, 1975–2003, Speaker of the House, 1994–2003

Three X Sisters – singing trio

Steve Trimble (1958–2011) – pro football defensive back

George L. Wellington (1852–1927) – U.S. Senator

Steve Whiteman – singer of 80s metal band KIX

Marianne Lake (born 1969) – CEO of Consumer Lending, JPMorgan Chase

Ty Johnson (American football) (born 1997) – NFL running back for the Detroit Lions