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Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2000, its population was 150,897. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster.
This county is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. While predominantly rural, the county has become increasingly suburban in recent years.
Education
The Carroll County Public Schools School system is the ninth largest school district in the state of Maryland. Carroll County has the highest graduation rate of any county in the state of Maryland, coming in above 95%.
** Carroll County Tourism, Attractions and Promotions
Fire and Rescue
The county is serviced by numerous different local Volunteer Fire and Rescue Departments. The Carroll County Office of Public Safety Support Services is responsible for providing liaison with fire and police organizations.
Law Enforcement
Law enforcement services for the county are provided by the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, as well as several municipalities having their own police forces. In addition to providing police services, the Sheriff's Office also acts as an agent of the courts: serving warrants, enforcing child support laws, ensuring courthouse security, transporting prisoners, etc. On October 4th, 2007, the County Commissioners voted to create a police department for the county. The police department would handle primary law enforcement duties while the Sheriff's office would continue to act under the arm of the courts. This move would give the Commissioners power to appoint or fire the chief of police instead of having a popularly elected Sheriff being in charge of all law enforcement. This move falls in line with Maryland's more populated counties who have such a dual system of law enforcement (Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Howard and Baltimore Counties), as Carroll County has begun to have a population increase. Municipal departments, such as Westminster Police, would be unaffected by the change.
Health Care
Carroll Hospital Center, located in Westminster, is the counties main hospital.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 452 square miles (1,170.7 km2), of which 449 square miles (1,162.9 km2) is land and 3 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.72%) is water.
Carroll County is bordered on the north by the Mason-Dixon Line. The Patapsco River forms its southern border, and Liberty Reservoir forms part of its eastern border. Carroll County is bordered on the west by the Monocacy River and Sam's Creek. Other major streams include Big Pipe Creek, Little Pipe Creek, Bear Branch, and the headwaters of the Gunpowder River. The Piney Run Reservoir is in the southern part of the county.
The terrain consists of largely of rolling piedmont hills. The most significant of these is Parr's Ridge, which bisects the county from southwest to northeast. The highest point is in the northeastern part of the county on Dug Hill along Deep Run Road.
There are three railroad lines that transit Carroll County. The old Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Old Main Line crosses the southern part of the county, with former stations in Sykesville and Mount Airy. The original Western Maryland Railway (WM) main line track goes through Carrollton, Westminster, New Windsor, and Union Bridge. The old Baltimore and Hanover Railroad (later acquired by WM) goes through Hampstead, Millers, and Lineboro. Two of the three railroad lines are currently operated by CSX Transportation, with the former WM main line being operated by Maryland Midland Railway.
Adjacent Counties
- York County, Pennsylvania (northeast)
- Baltimore County (east)
- Howard County (south)
- Frederick County (west)
- Adams County, Pennsylvania (northwest)
Cities and Towns
This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:
- 3 Cities:
- Westminster (incorporated 1818)
- Taneytown (incorporated 1836)
- Sykesville (incorporated 1904)
- 5 Towns:
- Manchester (incorporated 1834)
- New Windsor (incorporated 1843)
- Union Bridge (incorporated 1872)
- Hampstead (incorporated 1888)
- Mount Airy (incorporated 1894) (This town is partly in Carroll County, partly in Frederick County, Montgomery County and Howard County.)
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:
- Eldersburg
Other unincorporated communities include:
- Alesia
- Carrollton
- Carrolltowne
- Detour
- Finksburg
- Frizzelburg
- Gamber
- Gaither
- Greenmount
- Harney
- Henryton
- Jasontown
- Keymar
- Lineboro
- Linwood
- Louisville
- Marriottsville (a portion is also in Howard County.)
- Middleburg
- Millers
- Patapsco
- Silver Run
- Union Mills
- Uniontown
- Woodbine (a portion is also in Howard County.)
- Woodstock (a portion is also in Howard County.)
Miscellaneous
- The newspaper of record is the Carroll County Times.
- The county was used for scenes in the Tim Allen movie For Richer or Poorer and the Richard Gere and Julia Roberts movie Runaway Bride.
- Chris Rock stood in front of North Carroll Middle School during his speech in the movie Head of State.
Refferences
All references and cite's can be found by using the link below:
Wikipedia - Carroll County - References
* This page was cited from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and retrieved on 11/10/2010.
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