Poolesville, Maryland
| Town of Poolesville | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
 |
|
 |
|
| Coordinates: 39°8′26″N 77°24′30″W / 39.14056°N 77.40833°WCoordinates: 39°8′26″N 77°24′30″W / 39.14056°N 77.40833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maryland |
| County | Montgomery |
| Settled | 1760 |
| Incorporated | 1867 |
| Government | |
| • President | Paul "Eddie" Kuhlman |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.0 sq mi (10.4 km2) |
| • Land | 4.0 sq mi (10.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.09 sq mi (0.23 km2) |
| Elevation | 413 ft (126 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 4,883 |
| • Density | 1,193/sq mi (460.7/km2) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 20837 |
| Area code(s) | 240, 301 |
| FIPS code | 24-62850 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0593418 |
| Website | http://www.ci.poolesville.md.us |
Poolesville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland United States with a population of approximately 5000 people. It is surrounded by (but is technically not part of) the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve,[1] and is considered a distant bedroom community for commuters to Washington, DC.
The name of the town comes from the brothers John Poole, Sr. and Joseph Poole, Sr. who owned land in what is now Poolesville. Due to a historical anomaly, until 2010 the legal name of the town was "The Commissioners of Poolesville".[2] Residents overwhelmingly voted to formally change the name to "The Town of Poolesville" in the November, 2010 general election.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Government
Poolesville is governed by five commissioners elected in staggered 4-year terms. Commissioners are not paid. The commissioners elect among themselves a president (known informally as "the mayor") and vice president. A Town Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the town. Six Boards and Commissions assist the commissioners: the Planning Commission, Parks Board, Board of Elections, Sign Review Board, Board of Zoning Appeals, and Ethics Commission.[4]
[edit] History
In 1760, brothers John Poole, Sr. and Joseph Poole, Sr. purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2; 0.25 sq mi) acres in the area that is now Poolesville. Thirty-three years later, John Poole, Jr. used a 15 acres (0.061 km2) tract that he inherited from his father to build a log store and subdivided the tract, selling portions to a number of other merchants. The settlement grew from there and was incorporated in 1867.[5]
During the Civil War Union military leaders realized that the shallow fords of the Potomac River posed a threat to the capital city. At certain times of the year the Potomac River is shallow enough to cross and thus thousands of troops were moved to both Darnestown and Poolesville. The Corps of Observation was established just outside of Poolesville and soldiers were stationed near the river to watch for Confederate incursions into Maryland. During the winter of 1861-1862 it is estimated that 20,000 Union troops were stationed in or around the town. There were no battles fought in Poolesville; however, the infamous Battle of Ball's Bluff was fought nearby on October 21, 1861. Hundreds of Union soldiers who were stationed in Poolesville were killed in this battle that was badly managed by inexperienced Union generals.[citation needed]
There were several Confederate raids into the town during the war and the Confederate Army invaded Maryland by crossing the Potomac near Poolesville in both 1862 and 1864. The old Poolesville Methodist Church cemetery contains the remains of approximately twenty soldiers who either were killed in action at Bulls Bluff or who died of illness while in camp.[citation needed]
The Poolesville Historic District was listed in 1975 on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
[edit] Geography
Poolesville is located at 39°8′26″N 77°24′30″W / 39.14056°N 77.40833°W (39.140540, -77.408461)[7].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km2) which is all land.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Per 2000 Census
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 5,151 people, 1,601 households, and 1,402 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,333.8 people per square mile (515.2/km²). There were 1,630 housing units at an average density of 422.1 per square mile (163.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town in 2000 was 93.57% White, 2.85% African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.68% of the population.
There were 1,601 households out of which 56.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.6% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.4% were non-families. 9.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the town the population was spread out with 35.0% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 3.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $85,092, and the median income for a family was $88,916. Males had a median income of $60,596 versus $42,051 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,211. About 2.5% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Per 2010 Census
Information available from the 2010 Census[9] as of April, 2011 indicated that the current population was 4,883, giving a population density of 1,193.2 people per square mile (460.7/km²). The current racial makeup of the town is 88.4% White, 5.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race are 6.3% of the population.
[edit] Education
Poolesville is served by Montgomery County Public Schools. Three schools are located in Poolesville: Poolesville High School [1], John Poole Middle School [2], and Poolesville Elementary School [3]. Monacacy Elementary School [4] in Dickerson also feeds into John Poole MS.
[edit] Notable people of Poolesville
- Thomas Plater, U.S. Congressman for Maryland's 3rd District, 1801–1805, died in Poolesville.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/ded/agservices/pdffiles/agreserveandagindustry.pdf This reference has a map of the Montgomery Country Agricultural Reserve; the Poolesville town limits are delineated by the white area inside the light green Agricultural Reserve portion of the map in western Montgomery County.
- ^ http://www.monocacymonocle.com/images/MMVII_14_1-4.pdf,
- ^ http://www.monocacymonocle.com/images/MMVII_17_1-4.pdf
- ^ "Government of Poolesville - General Information". Town of Poolesville. Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20070721033853/http://www.ci.poolesville.md.us/government/logovinfo.html. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ "A Brief History of Poolesville". Town of Poolesville - Charles W. Elgin Sr.. Archived from the original on 2007-06-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20070622114610/http://ci.poolesville.md.us/history/brief.html. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/ FactFinder.gov, 2010 Census, retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ "PLATER, Thomas, (1769 - 1830) - Biographical Information". US Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000378. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
