Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's sixth-most populous incorporated city and is the most populous city in the Maryland Panhandle.
Hagerstown anchors the Hagerstown metropolitan area extending into West Virginia. It makes up the northwesternmost portion of the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area in the heart of the Great Appalachian Valley. The population of the metropolitan area in 2020 was 293,844. Greater Hagerstown was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state of Maryland and among the fastest growing in the United States, as of 2009.Table 7. Cumulative Estimates of Population Change for Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Rankings: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 , Census Bureau 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
Hagerstown has a distinct topography, formed by stone ridges running from northeast to southwest through the center of town. Geography accordingly bounds its neighborhoods. These ridges consist of upper Stonehenge Limestone. Many of the older buildings were built from this stone, which is easily quarried and dressed onsite. It whitens in weathering and the edgewise conglomerate and wavy laminae become distinctly visible, giving an appearance unique to the Cumberland Valley as seen in the architecture of St. John's Episcopal Church.Ray Smith Bass, State of Maryland Geological Survey, Cambrian and Ordovician Deposits of Maryland (1919) at 99.
Despite its semi-rural Western Maryland setting, Hagerstown is a center of transit and commerce. Interstates 81 and 70, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western railroads, as well as Hagerstown Regional Airport form an extensive transportation network for the city. Hagerstown is also the chief commercial and industrial hub for a greater tri-state area that includes much of Western Maryland as well as significant portions of South Central Pennsylvania and the Martinsburg Panhandle Area. Hagerstown has often been referred to as, and is nicknamed, the Hub City.
History Founding
In 1739, Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant from Pennsylvania and a volunteer Captain of Scouts, purchased of land in the Great Appalachian Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in Maryland and called it Hager's Fancy. In 1762, Hager officially founded the town of Elizabethtown which he named after his wife, Elizabeth Kershner. Fourteen years later, Jonathan Hager became known as the "father of Washington County" after his efforts helped Hagerstown become the county seat of newly created Washington County, which Hager also helped create from neighboring Frederick County. The city council changed the community's name to Hager's-Town in 1813 because the name had gained popular usage, and in the following year, the Maryland State Legislature officially endorsed the changing of the town's name.
In 1794, government forces arrested 150 citizens during a draft riot which was staged by protesters in response to the Whiskey Rebellion. American Civil War Hagerstown's strategic location at the border between the North and the South made the city a primary staging area and supply center for four major campaigns during the Civil War. In 1861, General Robert Patterson's troops used Hagerstown as a base to attack Virginia troops in the Shenandoah Valley. In the Maryland Campaign of 1862, General James Longstreet's command occupied the town while en route to the Battle of South Mountain and Antietam. In 1863, the city was the site of several military incursions and engagements as Gen. Robert E. Lee's army invaded and retreated in the Gettysburg campaign. In 1864, Hagerstown was invaded by the Confederate army under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early. On Wednesday, July 6, Early sent 1,500 cavalry, commanded by Brig. Gen. John McCausland, into Hagerstown. The Confederates levied a ransom of $20,000 and a large amount of clothing, in retribution for U.S. destruction of farms, feed and cattle in the Shenandoah Valley. This is in contrast to neighboring Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which McCausland razed on July 30 when the borough failed to supply the requested ransom of $500,000 in U.S. currency, or $100,000 in gold.
Following the war, in 1872 Maryland and Virginia cooperated to re-inter Confederate dead from their impromptu graves to cemeteries in Hagerstown, Frederick and Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Roughly 60% however, remained unidentified. In 1877, 15 years after the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, approximately 2,800 Confederate dead from that battle and also from the battles on South Mountain were re-interred in Washington Confederate Cemetery, within Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown.The Crossroads of the Civil War - Hagerstown , Hagerstown-Washington County Convention & Visitor's Bureau, Civil War, Retrieved 2007.Washington Confederate Cemetery, Hagerstown, Maryland, Western Maryland Historical Library, Retrieved 2014. Railroads
Hagerstown's nickname of the "Hub City" originated from the large number of railroads (and roads) that served the city. Hagerstown was served by the Western Maryland Railway, Baltimore and Ohio, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and the Cumberland Valley Railroad. Currently, the city is a vital location on CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western Railroads.
Hagerstown was formerly served by the Hagerstown Railway (and later the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway,) which was an interurban trolley system, from 1896 to 1947.
Little Heiskell
One of the most recognizable symbols of Hagerstown is the weathervane known as "Little Heiskell". It is named after the German tinsmith Benjamin Heiskell, who crafted it in 1769 in the form of a Hessian soldier.
Geography Location and topography Hagerstown is situated south of the Mason–Dixon line and north of the Potomac River and between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains in a part of the Great Appalachian Valley known regionally as Cumberland Valley and locally as Hagerstown Valley. The community also lies within proximity of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Hagerstown, by driving distance, is approximately northwest of Washington, D.C., west-northwest of Baltimore and southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Major waterways within Hagerstown include Hamilton Run and Antietam Creek that are tributaries of the Potomac River. Natural landscape around Hagerstown consists of low, rolling hills with elevations of to above sea level and rich, fertile land that is well-suited and utilized for dairy farming, cornfields, and fruit orchards typical of Mid-Atlantic agriculture.
Climate Hagerstown is situated in the transition between the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa) and the humid continental climate zone (Köppen Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cool to moderately cold winters. Normal monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July, while record temperatures range from on January 13, 1912, up to on July 23, 1999. Precipitation is moderate, averaging annually, and is somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year, with a slight winter minimum and a maximum in May and June.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Hagerstown had a population of 43,527. The median age was 36.2 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.3 males age 18 and over.
99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 17,768 households in Hagerstown, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.6% were married-couple households, 23.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 19,779 housing units, of which 10.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.8%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 27,173 62.4% Black or African American 8,652 19.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 159 0.4% Asian 919 2.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 27 0.1% Some other race 1,951 4.5% Two or more races 4,646 10.7% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 4,281 9.8%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 39,662 people, 16,449 households, and 9,436 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 18,682 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.8% White, 15.5% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.6% of the population.
There were 16,449 households, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.6% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.04.
The median age in the city was 34.5 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.6% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 12.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female. Between 2011 and 2015, 26.8% of the population lived in poverty.US Census Bureau, Quick Figures, 2016 Retrieved September 22, 2017
2000 census As of the U.S. census of 2000, there were 36,687 people, 15,849 households, and 9,081 families residing in the city.
According to Census 2000 figures, the population density was . There were 17,089 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.95% White, 10.15% Black, 1.77% Hispanic or Latino, 0.25% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. There were 17,154 males and 19,533 females residing in the city.
There were 15,849 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,796, and the median income for a family was $38,149. Males had a median income of $31,200 versus $22,549 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,153. About 15.1% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.
Metropolitan area
Hagerstown–Martinsburg, MD–WV MSA consists of three counties: Washington County, Maryland Berkeley County, West Virginia Morgan County, West Virginia