Crofton, Maryland
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Crofton is a census-designated place and planned community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Established in 1964, Crofton recently held its 40th birthday celebration.
Community life frequently revolves around Crofton Parkway, actually a scenic loop 3.5 miles long, tangentially touching the larger "triangle" made up of three nearby roads, which encloses the original Crofton community. Crofton Parkway is the scene of yearly parades, two of its three elementary schools, the Town Hall, Village Green, community events, Crofton Country Club, and walkers, joggers and bikers around the loop. The Crofton area now extends North from the triangle, including Crofton Park and the Village at Waugh Chapel, a large outdoor shopping mall. Crofton also has a community pool, the Crofton Swim and Tennis Club [CSTC] but is restricted to those inhabitants of the triangle.
Originally an exclusive gated community, Crofton's gates were opened and they now only serve as a welcome symbol for this community just off of crowded Route 3. It offers a small town feel, while being convenient to major roads leading directly to the cities of Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Annapolis. It has developed into an extremely desirable community for young families, having a diversity of housing, from a large mix of well-kept townhomes to suburban single family homes and good schools. As of the 2000 census, the total population of those in the Crofton ZIP code was 20,091. The Crofton area, however, is larger than its census designation ZIP code, encompassing some of the Gambrills ZIP code as well.
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[edit] History
[edit] Crofton Plan
In 1963, after the Crawford Corporation accumulated over 1600 acres (6.5 km²) of land, it announced that it would build a new community called Crofton. This new town and planned community was founded at the same time as Reston, Virginia (April 17th 1964) and Columbia, Maryland (1967). Crofton was officially founded in the fall of 1964. The company considered picking an English name for the new town that "sounds well and implies that this is a pleasant place to live." It ended up picking the name "Crofton," named after a small township in Cumberland County, England. The English town was originally called Croft-town, derived from the word Croft, as the town standing upon the Crofts. [1]
[edit] Education
- Crofton Elementary School
- Crofton Woods Elementary School
- Crofton Meadows Elementary School
- Crofton Middle School
- Arundel High School
- South River High School
[edit] Geography
Crofton originally consisted of the area in the Crofton triangle, the area bounded by routes 3 in the West, 424 (Davidsonville Road) in the North, and 450 (Defense Highway) in the South. The Crofton area later expanded mostly North to encompass the area bounded by Reidel Road and Underwood Road. The Crofton ZIP code of 21114 -- and thus the census area -- does not encompass large areas of the Crofton area, including Crofton Middle School and areas just North of Route 424 and communities North of Johns Hopkins Road. These areas are located in the Gambrills ZIP code of 21054.
Crofton is located at (39.008860, -76.680991)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Crofton ZIP code has a total area of 13.0 km² (5.0 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 20,091 people, 7,404 households, and 5,478 families residing in the Crofton ZIP code. The following date only includes census-listed figures for the Crofton ZIP code and excludes other data for Crofton-area residents.
The population density was 1,545.3/km² (3,998.6/mi²). There were 7,573 housing units at an average density of 582.5/km² (1,507.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the community was 90.21% White, 5.13% African American, 0.23% Native American, 2.33% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.48% of the population.
There were 7,404 households out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the community the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the area was $75,046, and the median income for a family was $87,267. Males had a median income of $56,819 versus $41,229 for females. The per capita income for the area was $33,518. About 2.0% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Crofton pond snakehead fish incident
Crofton was in the national news in late June and early July 2002 after a northern snakehead was discovered in a pond behind a post office,(not the local landmark Lake Louise, but instead across Route 3 from it). The species, which is very aggressive and can walk short distances on land, came from a live asian food market, where the fish is a delicacy. In order to ensure that the fish was eliminated, the pond was drained. Two adult and about 100 juvenile fish were found and destroyed. Ultimately, the incident initiated a national discussion on invasive species and comparisons with the mute swan, also an invasive and destructive species of the Chesapeake Bay watershed but, in comparison, quite beautiful, and which garnered support from some environmental and animal rights groups. Shortly thereafter, the SciFi Network aired a movie called Snakehead Terror, which was inspired by this incident. Then, in September 2005, the SciFi Network aired the movie Frankenfish, also inspired by the snakehead fish incident.
[edit] Crofton's Population History from the U.S. Census Bureau
The following population history only includes census-listed figures for the Crofton ZIP code and excludes other Crofton-area residents.
[edit] Existing Landmarks
- Whites Hall - birth place for Johns Hopkins. Gerrard Hopkins was the first to come to America from England, settling in Crofton in 1660. The Hopkins family was in the Crofton area for 270 years and accumulated more than 1000 acres (4 km²) of land. Whites Hall still exists near the corner of Reidel Road and Johns Hopkins Road. It is privately owned.
- Linthicum Walks - built over 200 years ago by Thomas Linthicum III, a member of an influential family in Anne Arundel County. The original grant for the land was to Evan Davis in 1672 and obtained in 1699 by Thomas Linthicum, a Welsh immigrant. It was part of a medium size tobacco farm. George Washington stayed here during his travels to and from Annapolis and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Located next to Crofton Middle School and the planned location for Crofton High School, Linthicum Walks is owned by the Anne Arundel County Board of Education and is currently being restored.
[edit] Famous Croftonites
- Johns Hopkins - Johns Hopkins was born at Whites Hall on Johns Hopkins Road. Johns Hopkins was a famous businessman who was involved in the building of the B&O Railroad from Baltimore, Maryland westward and, upon his death, founded world-renowned Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
- Spiro Agnew - originally of Baltimore County, one of his homes following his resignation as Vice President of the United States was in Crofton.
- Ernie Clayton - Jim Henson's former college roommate and namesake of the Muppet from the children's TV series Sesame Street.
[edit] Sources
- Browne, Joseph L., From Sotweed to Suburbia: A History of the Crofton, Maryland Area, 40th Anniversary version, 1660-1960. Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., published by the Crofton Rotary to fund the restoration of Linthicum Walks.
- Crofton Small Area Plan
[edit] External links
- Crofton Living
- CroftonLiving.net, LLC
- Crofton Town Hall
- Greater Crofton Chamber of Commerce
- Crofton.com Online Business Directory
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
