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Dundalk, Maryland

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Dundalk, Maryland
Image:Shoppdundalk.jpg
Old Dundalk Shopping Center
Official flag of Dundalk, Maryland


Flag


Location in the state of Maryland, USA
Location in the state of Maryland, USA
unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States {{{subdivision_name}}}
Founded 1895
Area  
 - City km²
Population  
 - City ()
Time zone EST (UTC)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC)

Dundalk is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 62,306 at the 2000 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest unincorporated community in Maryland.

Contents

[edit] History

The area now known as Dundalk was first explored by John Smith in 1608, when while conducting an expedition up the Chesapeake Bay he landed on the area known as the Patapsco Neck. Up until this time, the area was occupied by the tribes of the Susquehanna Indians.

In 1664 Thomas Todd of Virginia purchased 1,150 acres (4.7 km²) of land on the Patapsco Neck, this being the first deed in Baltimore County. The original house, “Todd’s Inheritance”, was burnt by the British during the War of 1812, Battle of North Point. After the war the house was rebuilt, and it still stands today as a historical landmark.

In 1895 Henry McShane, an immigrant from Ireland, established the McShane Bell Foundry on the banks of the Patapsco River in the then far southeastern outskirts of Baltimore. The foundry, today gone, manufactured cast iron pipes and furnace fittings. When asked by the Baltimore and Sparrows Point Railroad for a name of a depot for the foundry, which was on their rail line, he wrote Dundalk, after the town of his birth Dundalk, Ireland.

Image:Dundalkshipshouse.jpg
In 1916 the Bethlehem Steel Company purchased 1,000 acres (4 km²) of farmland, near the McShane foundry, to develop housing for its shipyard workers. The Dundalk Company was formed to plan a town in the new style, similar to that of the Roland Park area of Baltimore, excluding businesses except at specific spots and leaving land for future development of schools, playing fields, and parks. By 1917 Dundalk proper was founded, by then it had 62 houses, 2 stores, a post office, and a telephone exchange. Streets were laid out in a pedestrian-friendly open grid, with monikers like "Shipway," "Northship," "Flagship," and "Admiral." The two-story houses had steeply pitched roofs and stucco exteriors.

Dundalk is primarily a working class community, an older town, with a pedestrian-friendly appeal. Unlike many newer suburbs, most Dundalk neighborhoods have narrow, tree-lined streets with plentiful sidewalk space, and houses that are fronted by porches and stoops, rather than garages (which are all placed on rear alleys). Streets are densley connected in a grid which makes traffic distribute evenly and ensures that cars slow down. Many Dundalk residents are hard-working, down to earth and genuine, taking pride in home ownership and their community.

Dundalk made headlines in March 2000 when gunman Joseph Palczynski took 3 people hostage in an apartment after killing 4 others in the Baltimore area. After 4 days, the hostages escaped uninjured, but Palczynski was shot and killed at the scene.

[edit] Geography

Dundalk is located at 39°15′57″N, 76°30′19″W (39.265957, -76.505182)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 45.0 km² (17.4 mi²). 34.4 km² (13.3 mi²) of it is land and 10.6 km² (4.1 mi²) of it (23.58%) is water.

Most of Dundalk is flat and very near sea level, with a few small hills as you move closer to the city of Baltimore. It is a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The climate is a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and mild, wet winters.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,810.1/km² (4,689.5/mi²). There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 766.5/km² (1,985.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.58% White, 7.51% African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.45% of the population.

There were 24,772 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

Image:Dundalkspring.jpg
The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,789, and the median income for a family was $46,035. Males had a median income of $36,512 versus $25,964 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,543. About 6.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Population History

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Public transit

Public transportation between Sparrows Point, Dundalk and Baltimore City was operated by the United Railways and Electric Company's (later the Baltimore Transit Company) #26 streetcar line which ran down the middle of Dundalk Avenue until August 1958. Until the early 1950's, the line carried the famous "Red Rocket" streetcars which were two and three car trains of wooden trolleys. During World War II's rush hours on the line, trains operated on a 30 second headway. Public transportation is now provided by the Maryland Mass Transit Administration. Three major MTA lines that serve the area are the #4,#10 and #20.

[edit] Education

Dundalk contains a campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, known as CCBC-Dundalk. It was formerly known as Dundalk Community College.

For primary and secondary education Dundalk is served by the Baltimore County Public Schools system, with Dundalk High School, Sparrows Point High School and Patapsco High School being the major high schools to serve the area.

[edit] Regional Trivia

[edit] Points of Interest

[edit] Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant

Though not a tourist attraction per se, the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest such facility in Maryland.<ref name="whitman">http://www.wrallp.com/Portals/0/Back%20River.pdf</ref>

The facility is noted for its unique architectural design, and is a landmark which, while a bit of an eyesore, is looked on with a sort of local pride. Image:Splantnight.jpg The facility is a tall structure (approximation needed) made unique by it's color and appearance. It features a single "T" shape with a golden faceted dome on either side of the cross.

The facility handles approximately 180 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) <ref name="whitman" /> of human wastewater, which accounts for its olifactorally offensive smell, which is reminiscent of human feces, and ethane gas.

In August of 2006, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved $5 million Bay Restoration Act in grant monies to the City of Baltimore’s Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant for the evaluation of the nutrient removal capabilities of the plant.

This effort is part of an ongoing project called the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, an environmental & watershed improvement effort signed into law by Gov. Robert "Bob" L. Ehrlich, Jr. in 2004.<ref name="bob">http://www.gov.state.md.us/pressreleases/2006/20060830GovernorEhrlichAnnounces23.3MillioninChesapeakeBayRestorationActGrants.html</ref> to reduce waste desposits into the Chesapeake Bay as well as reduce toxic emissions into the atmosphere. This law was called, by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation “the most important pollution-reducing initiative in the state in 20 years.”<ref name="bob" />



[edit] Nicknames for the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant

Though coarse in nature, the nicknames the BRWTP has earned are often used in Bawlmerese (spoken predominantly in Dundalk and Hampden) as a badge of indigenousness to the region. Mostly the reference the plant's odd design or its distinct fecal smell.

Some include:

  1. "Shit Plant"
  2. "Golden Testicles"
  3. "The Golden Eggs"
  4. "The Crap Factory"

[edit] Natives and residents of note

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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