Montgomery County, Maryland

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Montgomery County, Maryland

Seal (Detail)
Location in the state of Maryland
Formed	1776
Seat	Rockville
Area  - Total  - Water	1,313 km² (507 mi²) 30 km² (12 mi²) 2.29%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	873,341 680/km²
Official Website www.montgomerycountymd.gov

Montgomery County is a suburban county located in the state of Maryland north of Washington, D.C..

Its county seat is Rockville, and its most populous community is Silver Spring.

This county is a part of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Adjacent Counties 3 Demographics 4 Law and government 4.1 County Executives 4.2 Legislative body 5 Cities and towns 6 Transportation 6.1 Roads 6.2 Bus 6.3 Rail 6.4 Air 7 External link

History

The area now known as Montgomery County was originally a part of Charles County. In 1696 parts of Charles and Baltimore Counties were split off to form the new Prince George's County. In turn, in 1748, a portion of Prince George's County produced Frederick County. Montgomery County was formed in 1776 by the splitting of Frederick County. The former Frederick County was subdivided into three; the central portion remained Frederick County, while the western was named Washington County in honor of General (later President) George Washington, and the eastern part was named Montgomery County in honor of another Revolutionary War general, Richard Montgomery.

In 1791, portions of Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland, as well as parts of Virginia, were ceded to form the new District of Columbia. (The portions originally ceded by Virginia were returned by an act of U.S. Congress, approved July 9, 1846.)

In 1997, Montgomery County annexed a portion of Prince George's County after Takoma Park residents voted to be entirely within the more affluent Montgomery County. This event passed virtually unnoticed as it was on the same day as the city of Hong Kong was transferred back from the custody of Great Britain to the People's Republic of China.

In October 2002, Montgomery County caught national headlines during the Beltway sniper attacks. There were five fatal shootings in 15 hours in Montgomery County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,313 km² (507 mi²). 1,283 km² (496 mi²) of it is land and 30 km² (12 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.29% water.

Adjacent Counties

• Carroll County (northeast)
• Frederick County (north)
• Howard County (east)
• Prince George's County (southeast)
• Loudoun County, Virginia (west)
• Fairfax County, Virginia (southwest)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 873,341 people, 324,565 households, and 224,274 families residing in the county. The population density is 680/km² (1,762/mi²). There are 334,632 housing units at an average density of 261/km² (675/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 64.78% White, 15.14% African American, 0.29% Native American, 11.30% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.00% from other races, and 3.45% from two or more races. 11.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 324,565 households out of which 35.00% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% are married couples living together, 10.50% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% are non-families. 24.40% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.70% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.66 and the average family size is 3.19.

In the county the population is spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 92.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $71,551, and the median income for a family is $84,035. Males have a median income of $54,005 versus $40,714 for females. The per capita income for the county is $35,684. 5.40% of the population and 3.70% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.90% of those under the age of 18 and 5.90% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Since the 1970s, the county has had in place a Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) zoning plan that encourages developers to include affordable housing in any new residential developments that they construct in the county. The goal is to create socioeconomically mixed neighborhoods and schools so that the rich and poor are not isolated in separate parts of the county. Developers who comply with MPDU are rewarded with permission to increase the density of their developments, which allows them to build more housing and generate more revenue. Montgomery County was one of the first counties in the U.S. to adopt such a plan, but many other areas have since followed suit.

Law and government

Montgomery County was granted a charter form of government in 1948.

County Executives

Name	Party	Term
James P. Gleason	Republican	1970-1978
Charles W. Gilchrist	Democrat	1978-1986
Sidney Kramer	Democrat	1986-1990
Neal Potter	Democrat	1990-1994
Douglas M. Duncan	Democrat	1994-2006

Legislative body

The Montgomery County Council was originally composed of seven members, all elected at large, but with five required to reside in specific districts. In 19__ the charter was revised to provide that the five district councilmembers would be elected by the voters in their districts, but the size of the council was increased to nine members, with four at large.

Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

• 3 Cities:
  1. Gaithersburg (incorporated 1878)
  2. Rockville (incorporated 1860)
  3. Takoma Park (incorporated 1890)
• 12 Towns:
  1. Barnesville (incorporated 1888)
  2. Brookeville (incorporated 1808)
  3. Chevy Chase (Town of) (incorporated 1918)
  4. Chevy Chase View (incorporated 1993)
  5. Chevy Chase Village (incorporated 1910) (note that, despite the name, Chevy Chase Village is a town and not a village.)
  6. Garrett Park (incorporated 1898)
  7. Glen Echo (incorporated 1904)
  8. Kensington (incorporated 1894)
  9. Laytonsville (incorporated 1892)
  10. Poolesville (incorporated 1867)
  11. Somerset (incorporated 1906)
  12. Washington Grove (incorporated 1937)
• 4 Villages:
  1. Chevy Chase, Village of, Section 3 (incorporated 1982)
  2. Chevy Chase, Village of, Section 5 (incorporated 1982)
  3. Martin's Additions (incorporated 1985)
  4. North Chevy Chase (incorporated 1996)

Though the three incorporated cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Takoma Park lie within its boundaries, the most urbanized areas in the county include such unincorporated areas as Bethesda and Silver Spring.

Occupying a middle ground between incorporated and unincorporated areas are Special Tax Districts, quasi-municipal unincorporated areas created by legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly.[1] They lack home rule authority and must petition the General Assembly for changes affecting the authority of the district. The four incorporated villages of Montgomery County and the town of Chevy Chase View were originally established as Special Tax Districts. Three Special Tax Districts remain in the county:

1. Drummond, Village of (1916)
2. Friendship Heights and "The Hills" (1914)
3. Oakmont (1918)

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county:

1. Ashton-Sandy Spring (a combination of the communities of Ashton and Sandy Spring recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
2. Aspen Hill
3. Bethesda
4. Brookmont
5. Burtonsville
6. Cabin John
7. Calverton (This CDP is shared between Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.)
8. Chevy Chase (Note that this is also the name of an incorporated town!)
9. Clarksburg
10. Cloverly
11. Colesville
12. Damascus
13. Darnestown
14. Fairland
15. Forest Glen
16. Friendship Village (This CDP includes the Village of Friendship Heights.)
17. Germantown
18. Hillandale (This CDP is shared between Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.)
19. Kemp Mill
20. Montgomery Village
21. North Bethesda
22. North Kensington
23. North Potomac
24. Olney
25. Potomac
26. Redland
27. Rossmoor
28. Silver Spring
29. South Kensington
30. Travilah
31. Wheaton-Glenmont (a combination of the communities of Wheaton and Glenmont recognized as a unit by the Census Bureau)
32. White Oak

Transportation

Roads

Montgomery County is approximately bisected north-south by Interstate 270, a connector linking Interstate 70 with Washington. I-270 divides in North Bethesda with spurs connecting it to both directions of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495).

A longstanding, fiercely contested plan exists to construct an east-west freeway, the Intercounty Connector. The ICC would extend Interstate 370 to connect I-270 with Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 1 in Laurel, Prince George's County.

Roughly paralleling 270 is Maryland State Highway 355, a surface street known for most of its length as Rockville Pike and in its southern reaches as Wisconsin Avenue. Other major routes include Maryland State Highway 190, River Road; Maryland State Highway 97, Georgia Avenue; and Maryland State Highway 28, known as Darnestown Road and Montgomery Avenue. US Route 29 parallels the eastern border of the county starting as Colesville Road in Silver Spring and thence as Columbia Pike through Burtonsville to Howard County.

Bus

Montgomery County operates its own bus public transit system, known as Ride On. Major routes are also covered by WMATA's Metrobus service.

Rail

Montgomery County is served by three passenger rail systems.

Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail system, operates its Capitol Limited to Rockville, between Washington Union Station and Chicago Union Station.

The Brunswick line of the MARC commuter rail system makes stops at Silver Spring, Kensington, Garrett Park, Rockville, Washington Grove, Gaithersburg, Metropolitan Grove, Germantown, Boyds, Barnesville, and Dickerson, where the line splits into its Frederick and Martinsburg branches.

Both suburban arms of the Red Line of the Washington Metro serve Montgomery County. It follows the CSX right of way to the west, roughly paralleling Route 355 from Friendship Heights to Shady Grove. The eastern side roughly parallels Georgia Avenue, from Silver Spring to Glenmont (Washington Metro).

Air

The Montgomery County Airpark (FAA GAI, ICAO KGAI), a general aviation facility in Gaithersburg, is the only airport in the county. Commercial air service is provided at the nearby Reagan National, Dulles, and BWI Airports.

External link

• Montgomery County Government
• neighbs.com features pictures, panoramas and films of some neighborhoods, schools and other amenities in and around Montgomery county, Maryland.
• Montgomery County blog

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