Western Maryland

The climate of Western Maryland is more akin to the mountains of northern West Virginia than to any other part of Maryland. Summers tend to be much cooler than in the rest of the state, and winters harsher. Temperatures in winter can drop to below {{convert|0|F|C|1}} on around eight nights per winter, and snowfall averages from {{convert|20|inch|m|2}} farther east to over {{convert|120|inch|m|2}} in the higher elevations. In comparison, Prince George's County, in the eastern part of the Washington metropolitan area, would previously average only {{convert|25|inch|m|2}} of snow and wintertime maxima exceeded {{convert|50|F|C}} on a third of all days.

Below is climate data for Hagerstown, the largest city in Western Maryland, located in Washington County, the easternmost and lowest elevation county in Western Maryland.

{{Weather box

|location = Hagerstown, Maryland (Washington County Airport), 1981−2010 normals

|single line = Y

|Jan high F = 38.3

|Feb high F = 41.4

|Mar high F = 50.7

|Apr high F = 62.9

|May high F = 72.2

|Jun high F = 81.3

|Jul high F = 85.2

|Aug high F = 83.0

|Sep high F = 75.3

|Oct high F = 65.1

|Nov high F = 53.5

|Dec high F = 41.3

|year high F =62.6

|Jan low F = 23.3

|Feb low F = 25.8

|Mar low F = 32.3

|Apr low F = 42.6

|May low F = 51.8

|Jun low F = 61.4

|Jul low F = 65.5

|Aug low F = 63.6

|Sep low F = 56.2

|Oct low F = 44.4

|Nov low F = 36.3

|Dec low F = 26.8

|year low F =44.3

|Jan record high F = 78

|Feb record high F = 81

|Mar record high F = 88

|Apr record high F = 95

|May record high F = 96

|Jun record high F = 102

|Jul record high F = 107

|Aug record high F = 105

|Sep record high F = 99

|Oct record high F = 93

|Nov record high F = 84

|Dec record high F = 78

|year record high F= 107

|Jan record low F = −17

|Feb record low F = −9

|Mar record low F = 0

|Apr record low F = 18

|May record low F = 30

|Jun record low F = 37

|Jul record low F = 42

|Aug record low F = 40

|Sep record low F = 29

|Oct record low F = 18

|Nov record low F = 6

|Dec record low F = -6

|year record low F= -17

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 2.68

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.55

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.38

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.56

|May precipitation inch = 4.03

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.88

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.41

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.14

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.67

|Oct precipitation inch = 2.88

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.22

|Dec precipitation inch = 2.89

|source 1 = NOAA{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/products/station/USW00093706.normals.txt

| server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| url-status = dead

| title=Station Name: MD HAGERSTOWN WASHINGTON CO AP

| access-date =February 28, 2013

}}

}}

Below is climate data for Oakland, located in Garrett County, the westernmost and highest elevation county in Western Maryland.{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.com/safety/winter/news/snowiest-places-most-snow |title=The Snowiest Place in Each State |access-date=January 24, 2015}}

{{Weather box

|location = Oakland, Maryland (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1893−present)

|single line = Y

|Jan high F = 34.5

|Feb high F = 38.2

|Mar high F = 47.6

|Apr high F = 59.0

|May high F = 67.6

|Jun high F = 75.3

|Jul high F = 78.8

|Aug high F = 77.8

|Sep high F = 71.4

|Oct high F = 61.8

|Nov high F = 50.3

|Dec high F = 38.9

|year high F= 58.4

|Jan low F = 15.8

|Feb low F = 17.3

|Mar low F = 24.9

|Apr low F = 34.3

|May low F = 44.5

|Jun low F = 53.4

|Jul low F = 58.0

|Aug low F = 56.1

|Sep low F = 48.6

|Oct low F = 37.0

|Nov low F = 28.3

|Dec low F = 20.7

|year low F= 36.6

|Jan record high F = 75

|Feb record high F = 76

|Mar record high F = 83

|Apr record high F = 88

|May record high F = 89

|Jun record high F = 95

|Jul record high F = 98

|Aug record high F = 101

|Sep record high F = 95

|Oct record high F = 88

|Nov record high F = 78

|Dec record high F = 74

|year record high F= 101

|Jan record low F = -40

|Feb record low F = -29

|Mar record low F = -20

|Apr record low F = -2

|May record low F = 17

|Jun record low F = 26

|Jul record low F = 33

|Aug record low F = 30

|Sep record low F = 19

|Oct record low F = 7

|Nov record low F = -16

|Dec record low F = -32

|year record low F= -40

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.54

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.20

|Mar precipitation inch = 4.13

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.87

|May precipitation inch = 5.14

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.42

|Jul precipitation inch = 5.46

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.78

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.45

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.15

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.83

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.85

|Jan snow inch = 30.9

|Feb snow inch = 22.2

|Mar snow inch = 17.6

|Apr snow inch = 5.2

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0.5

|Nov snow inch = 6.8

|Dec snow inch = 22.9

|year snow inch=

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 15.5

|Feb precipitation days = 11.9

|Mar precipitation days = 13.6

|Apr precipitation days = 13.7

|May precipitation days = 15.0

|Jun precipitation days = 13.5

|Jul precipitation days = 13.0

|Aug precipitation days = 11.3

|Sep precipitation days = 10.9

|Oct precipitation days = 10.7

|Nov precipitation days = 12.4

|Dec precipitation days = 15.1

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 10.2

|Feb snow days = 7.9

|Mar snow days = 5.6

|Apr snow days = 2.0

|May snow days = 0

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 0.4

|Nov snow days = 2.6

|Dec snow days = 7.9

|year snow days= 36.5

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web |url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=pbz |title = NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = February 2, 2014}}

}}

In 1748, the Western Maryland population was finally large enough to create a new county called Frederick County; at the time, the county stretched further west than it does today. In the earliest part of the colonial days, German immigrants that came from Pennsylvania had the most influence on the development of the plains and valleys of Western Maryland.{{cite book|last1=Scharf|first1=J. Thomas|title=History of Western Maryland|year=1882|publisher=Philadelphia : L. H. Everts|pages=59–61|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofwestern01scha#page/n7/mode/2up|access-date=July 30, 2014}}

Named for George Washington, Washington County was founded in 1776, by division of Frederick County. The largest city in this county is Hagerstown. It was named after Jonathan Hager, a German settler.

In 1785, the city of Cumberland, which is in Allegany County, was established. The County was the home for many pioneers, when they would travel through the Cumberland Narrows, a 1,000 foot high gap. This gap forms the main pass through the Allegheny Mountains to the west. In the mid-18th century, English settlers came to the county and began to mine and create towns and farms. This county was important for transportation for many travelers heading west. They would pass through by many forms of transportation, including canal, train, and horse and buggy.

The westernmost county in the state, Garrett County, was the last part of Maryland to be settled in 1764. The county was founded in 1872 by John Work Garrett, the B&O Railroad president.

The Appalachian Regional Development Act was created and passed in 1965 in an effort to correct the poverty issue, and the growing economic problems in the Appalachian region (13 States). According to the State of Maryland Appalachian Development Plan,{{cite web|title=State of Maryland Appalachian Development Plan|url=http://www.tccwmd.org/PDF/AMDP%20FY12.pdf|access-date=August 11, 2014}} the Act was passed because: (1) One in every three Appalachians lived in poverty; (2) Per capita income was 23% less than the US average; and (3) High unemployment and harsh living conditions had, in the 1950s, forced more than 2 million Appalachian people to leave their homes and seek work in other regions.

For the state of Maryland, this act was intended to bring awareness to the poverty levels of the Western Maryland counties. The program that was developed for this act was called the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The main goal of the ARC was to improve the development of the economy, and bring this region into socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation.

File:2021 Maryland West Virginia border change proposal.png

In 2021 a delegation of Maryland Republican legislators George Edwards, Mike McKay and Wendell Beitzel traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, to petition the state of West Virginia annexing the Western Maryland counties via a referendum.{{cite web |last1=Larry |first1=Greg |title=Lawmakers lobby for W.Va. to annex three Western Maryland counties |url=https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/lawmakers-lobby-for-w-va-to-annex-three-western-maryland-counties/article_58e1453a-32a3-11ec-9f82-f75af279c5b9.html |website=Cumberland Times-News |access-date=27 January 2025}} Although they only named Garrett and Allegany counties by name, McKay also represents Washington County. A letter dated to October 14 called for Allegany and Garrett counties become “constituent counties of West Virginia” and was sent to West Virginia Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw and Senate President Craig Blair. Howell stated “Our legislature is extremely honored that these three counties want to join our state, we take the request extremely seriously. They reached out to us. We have informed our governor and he is very receptive. I look at it like this, if Annapolis has nothing to fear, they will let the people in those three counties have their vote. We think they fit in very well with West Virginia.”

Howell then suggested a meeting between top state officials from the two states to meet at the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport to discuss the details further, suggesting that West Virginia would be willing to pay $1.5 billion for the counties. Jake Shade, who was running against McKay in the primaries, criticized the proposal due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice endorsed the proposal on October 25, however, by then Edwards had retracted his support for annexation, and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan denounced the effort as “a mistake” and “just a game for attention” as the effort largely petered out due to lack of any sign of support in Annapolis.{{cite web |last1=Stole |first1=Bryn |title=West Virginia governor endorses annexing Western Maryland: ‘You sure as the dickens won’t ever regret it!’ |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/10/22/west-virginia-governor-endorses-annexing-western-maryland-you-sure-as-the-dickens-wont-ever-regret-it/ |website=Baltimore Sun |access-date=27 January 2025}}

{{See also|Maryland statistical areas}}

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the three westernmost counties of Maryland have a population of 252,614, accounting for 4.4% of the population of Maryland.

The most populated county is Washington County, which is home to approximately 147,430 people. Allegany County is the next most populated county with 75,087 people, while Garrett County is the least populated with 30,097 people.

The following are some of the major cities in Western Maryland by county, in descending order of population, along with the city population of the 2020 census.

Washington County:

• Hagerstown (43,527)
• Boonsboro (3,336)
• Smithsburg (2,975)
• Williamsport (2,137)
• Hancock (1,546)

Allegany County:

• Cumberland (20,859)
• Frostburg (9,002)
• Westernport (1,888)

Garrett County:

• Mountain Lake Park (2,092)
• Oakland (1,925)

Western Maryland has a heavily agricultural economy. Its best-known crops are the apples grown in the Cumberland Valley, but corn, potatoes, beans, and varieties of green-leaf vegetables are grown as well. Mixed crop and livestock farms are common, and the region has a large number of dairy cattle farms.

{{See also|Western Maryland Scenic Railroad}}

Tourism is very important to Western Maryland. There is a thriving tourist industry, and has been noted as having "potential for significant growth."{{cite web|title=Western Maryland Overview of Regional Trends and Issues|url=http://smartgrowth.umd.edu/assets/documents/rcp/western_maryland_guidebook_section.pdf|access-date=August 9, 2014}}

Western Maryland has a number of sites with significance for military history, particularly the Civil War. In 1862, Washington County was home to one of the Civil War's bloodiest single-day battles at Antietam National Battlefield.

Western Maryland, particularly Cumberland, is also home to transportation themed tourism. The Downtown Cumberland Historic District is a National Register Historic District, and Cumberland's Western Maryland Railway Station is a popular site.

Garrett County is also well known for its numerous state parks and outdoor activities. Places such as Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County are frequented by many visitors every year. The largest lake in Western Maryland is Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County. The 4,000 acre body of water is owned by the State of Maryland and is man made. Construction began in 1920 and the lake was filled by 1929. It was originally made to power a small scale hydroelectric plant, but was eventually turned into a tourist destination. The lake is currently managed for boating and fishing, although it still provides some water to generate electricity. The Deep Creek Lake State Park offers fishing piers, beach and swim area, covered pavilions, and opportunities for camping.{{cite web|title=Deep Creek Lake|url=http://dnr2.maryland.gov/fisheries/Pages/hotspots/deepcreek.aspx|website=Maryland.gov|access-date=August 10, 2014}}

Maryland's only ski resort, Wisp Ski Resort, is located on a 172 acre property next to Deep Creek Lake. Hosting a year-round mountain coaster and cross country skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, it is a major tourist attraction in the region.{{cite web |title=Wisp Resort |url=https://www.wispresort.com/ |website=www.wispresort.com}}

Sports teams in Western Maryland include the following:

Garrett County along the Savage River has played host to two ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in 1989 and 2014.

Colleges in Western Maryland include:

• Allegany College of Maryland – community college
• Frostburg State University
• Garrett College – community college
• Hagerstown Community College – community college

{{See also|List of U.S. state partition proposals}}

In 2014, it was reported that some residents want the region to form a new state, which would include Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, and Carroll counties.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/some-western-md-residents-want-to-form-their-own-state/ |title=Some Western Maryland Residents Want To Form Their Own State |work=WJZ-TV |date=February 10, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2014}} Local supporters of partitioning western Maryland (dubbed "the Western Maryland Initiative") cited a perception of political domination by the more populous eastern portion of the state, particularly with reference to such issues as gun control, taxation, and same-sex marriage.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/western-maryland-secessionists-seek-to-sever-ties-with-the-liberal-free-state/2013/09/08/15e97aa8-1651-11e3-804b-d3a1a3a18f2c_story.html |title=Western Maryland secessionists seek to sever ties with the liberal Free State |work=The Washington Post |first1=Michael S. |last1=Rosenwald |date=September 8, 2013 |access-date=November 12, 2014}}

• List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web |url=http://visitmaryland.org/students/pages/marylandregions.aspx |title=Maryland Regions |website=Visit Maryland |access-date=January 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203123731/http://visitmaryland.org/students/pages/marylandregions.aspx |archive-date=February 3, 2014}}

{{cite web|url=https://www.dllr.state.md.us/county/west/|title=Western Maryland American Job Centers|publisher=Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation|access-date=January 26, 2018}}

https://www.census.gov {{nonspecific|date=August 2022}}

{{cite web

|url=http://www.as.wvu.edu/~khazen/APPBIB2_2.htm

|title=The Appalachian Language Bibliography

|first=Kirk

|last=Hazen

|year=2000

|access-date=December 8, 2007

}}

{{Cite book

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U5FDi8WksqYC&q=linguistics+%22western+maryland%22&pg=PA387

|title=A History of the English Language

|first1=Richard M.

|last1=Hogg

|first2=David

|last2=Denison

|pages=386–387

|date=2006

|publisher=Cambridge University Press

|isbn=0-521-66227-3

|access-date=December 8, 2007

}}

}}

{{Wikivoyage|Western Maryland}}

• [http://www.wmsr.com/ Western Maryland Scenic Railroad] Official Website for the Scenic Railroad and Canal Place.
• [http://wsrr.org/2013/ Walkersville Southern Railroad website], see also Walkersville Southern RR wiki article
• [http://www.mdmountainside.com Western Maryland Tourism Website] MDMountainside.com
• [http://www.rockygapresort.com/ Rocky Gap Resort] Western Maryland Park with Lake & Golf Course
• [http://www.heritagedaysfestival.com/ Heritage Days Festival]
• [http://www.canalplace.org/ Canal Place]
• [http://www.qcstriders.org/ Queen City Striders Running Club]
• [http://wmmba.cumberland.md/ Western Maryland Mountain Bike Association]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030628083015/http://www.westernmarylandwatercolorsociety.org/ Western Maryland Water Color Society]}}

{{Allegany County, Maryland}}

{{Frederick County, Maryland}}

{{Garrett County, Maryland}}

{{Washington County, Maryland}}

{{American panhandles}}

{{Maryland}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|39|41|40.23|N|77|52|15.94|W|region:US-MD|display=title}}

Category:Regions of Maryland

Category:Geography of Appalachia