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Frederick is a city in and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native American trail and east–west routes to the Chesapeake Bay, both at
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
and what became Washington, D.C. and across the
Appalachian mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
to the Ohio River watershed. It is a part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area. The city's population was 78,171 people as of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
, making it the second-largest incorporated city in Maryland (behind
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
). Frederick is home to Frederick Municipal Airport ( IATA: FDK), which accommodates general aviation, and
Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...
, a U.S. Army bioscience/communications research installation and Frederick county's largest employer.


History


Pre-Colonization

Located where
Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...
(the easternmost ridge of the Blue Ridge mountains) meets the rolling hills of the Piedmont region, the Frederick area became a crossroads even before European explorers and traders arrived. Native American hunters (possibly including the Susquehannocks, the Algonquian-speaking Shawnee, or the Seneca or
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **'' Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...
or other members of the Iroquois Confederation) followed the Monocacy River from the Susquehanna River watershed in Pennsylvania to the Potomac River watershed and the lands of the more agrarian and maritime Algonquian peoples, particularly the Lenape of the Delaware valley or the Piscataway and Powhatan of the lower Potomac watershed and Chesapeake Bay. This became known as the Monocacy Trail or even the Great Indian Warpath, with some travelers continuing southward through the " Great Appalachian Valley" ( Shenandoah Valley, etc.) to the western Piedmont in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, or traveling down other watersheds in Virginia toward the Chesapeake Bay, such as those of the Rappahannock, James and York Rivers.


Colonial era

The earliest European settlement was slightly north of Frederick in
Monocacy, Maryland Monocacy was a village in Frederick County, Maryland that was located along an old Indian trail known as the Monocacy Trail that ran parallel to the Monocacy River. The trail was known as the Great Wagon Road by colonial travelers; it went to Phi ...
. Monocacy was founded before 1730 (when the Indian trail became a wagon road) and was abandoned before the American Revolutionary War, likely due to the river's periodic flooding, hostilities predating the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...
, or simply Frederick's better location with easier access to the Potomac River near its confluence with the Monocacy. Daniel Dulany—a land speculator—laid out "Frederick Town" by 1745. Three years earlier,
All Saints Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania * All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Aus ...
had been founded on a hilltop near a warehouse/trading post. Sources disagree as to which Frederick the town was named for, but the likeliest candidates are Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (one of the proprietors of Maryland), Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
, King of Prussia. In 1748, Frederick County was formed by carving a section off of
Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...
. Frederick Town (now Frederick) was made the county seat of Frederick County. The county originally extended to the Appalachian mountains (areas further west being disputed between the colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania until 1789). The current town's first house was built by a young German Reformed schoolmaster from the Rhineland Palatinate named Johann Thomas Schley (died 1790), who led a party of immigrants (including his wife, Maria Von Winz) to the Maryland colony. The Palatinate settlers bought land from Dulany on the banks of Carroll Creek, and Schley's house stood at the northwest corner of Middle Alley and East Patrick Street into the 20th century. Schley's settlers also founded a German Reformed Church (today known as Evangelical Reformed Church, and part of the UCC). Probably the oldest house still standing in Frederick today is
Schifferstadt Schifferstadt ( pfl, Schiwwerschdadd, ''Schiffaschdad'', or ''Schiwwerschdadt'') is a town in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. If not including Ludwigshafen (the district free city that is the capital of Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis ...
, built in 1756 by German settler Joseph Brunner and now the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum. Schley's group was among the many Pennsylvania Dutch (ethnic Germans) (as well as Scots-Irish and French and later Irish) who migrated south and westward in the late-18th century. Frederick was an important stop along the migration route that became known as the
Great Wagon Road Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great ...
, which came down from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and
Emmitsburg, Maryland Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrim ...
and continued south following the Great Appalachian Valley through Winchester and Roanoke, Virginia. Another important route continued along the Potomac River from near Frederick, to Hagerstown, where it split. One branch crossed the Potomac River near Martinsburg, West Virginia and continued down into the Shenandoah valley. The other continued west to Cumberland, Maryland and ultimately crossed the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
into the watershed of the Ohio River. Thus, British General Edward Braddock marched his troops (including the youthful
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
) west in 1755 through Frederick on the way to their fateful ambush near
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
(later Fort Pitt, then Pittsburgh) during the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...
. However, the British after the Proclamation of 1763 restricted that westward migration route until after the American Revolutionary War. Other westward migrants continued south from Frederick to Roanoke along the Great Wagon Road, crossing the Appalachians into Kentucky and Tennessee at the Cumberland Gap near the Virginia/North Carolina border. Other German settlers in Frederick were Evangelical Lutherans, led by Rev. Henry Muhlenberg. They moved their mission church from Monocacy to what became a large complex a few blocks further down Church Street from the Anglicans and the German Reformed Church. Methodist missionary Robert Strawbridge, who accepted an invitation to preach at Frederick town in 1770, and Francis Asbury, who arrived two years later, both helped found a congregation which became Calvary Methodist Church, worshipping in a log building from 1792 (although superseded by larger buildings in 1841, 1865, 1910 and 1930). Frederick also had a Catholic mission, to which Rev. Jean DuBois was assigned in 1792, which became St. John the Evangelist Church (built in 1800). To control this crossroads during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, the British garrisoned a German Hessian regiment in the town;


Early 19th century

As the county seat for Western Maryland, Frederick not only was an important market town but also the seat of justice. Although Montgomery County and Washington County were split off from Frederick County in 1776, Frederick remained the seat of the smaller (though still large) county. Important lawyers who practiced in Frederick included John Hanson, Francis Scott Key and Roger B. Taney. Frederick was also known during the nineteenth century for its religious pluralism, with one of its main thoroughfares, Church Street, hosting about a half dozen major churches. In 1793, All Saints Church hosted the first confirmation of an American citizen, by the newly consecrated Episcopal Bishop
Thomas Claggett Thomas John Claggett (October 2, 1743 – August 2, 1816) was the first bishop of the newly formed American Episcopal Church, U.S.A. (also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.) to be consecrated on American soil and the first bi ...
. That original colonial building was replaced in 1814 by a brick classical revival structure. It still stands today, although the principal worship space has become an even larger brick gothic church joining it at the back and facing Frederick's City Hall (so the parish remains the oldest Episcopal Church in western Maryland). The main Catholic church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was built in 1800, then rebuilt in 1837 (across the street) one block north of Church Street on East Second Street, where it still stands along with a school and convent established by the
Visitation Sisters , image = Salesas-escut.gif , size = 175px , abbreviation = V.S.M. , nickname = Visitandines , motto = , formation = , founder = Saint Bishop Francis de ...
. The stone Evangelical Lutheran Church of 1752 was also rebuilt and enlarged in 1825, then replaced by the current twin-spired structure in 1852. The oldest African-American church in the town is Asbury United Methodist Church, founded as the Old Hill Church, a mixed congregation in 1818. It became an African-American congregation in 1864, renamed Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in 1870, and built its current building on All Saints Street in 1921. Together, these churches dominated the town, set against the backdrop of the first ridge of the Appalachians,
Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...
. The abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier later immortalized this view of Frederick in his poem to
Barbara Fritchie Barbara Fritchie (née Hauer; December 3, 1766 – December 18, 1862), also known as Barbara Frietchie, and sometimes spelled Frietschie, was a Unionist during the Civil War. She became part of American folklore in part from a popular poem ...
: "The clustered spires of Frederick stand / Green-walled by the hills of Maryland." When U.S. President
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
commissioned the building of the National Road from Baltimore toward St. Louis (eventually built to Vandalia, then the state capital of Illinois), the "National Pike" ran through Frederick along Patrick Street. (This later became
U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
.) Frederick's Jacob Engelbrecht corresponded with Jefferson in 1824 (receiving a transcribed psalm in return), and kept a diary from 1819-1878 which remains an important first-hand account of 19th century life from its viewpoint on the National Road. An important house remaining from this era is the Tyler Spite House, built in 1814 at 112 W. Church Street by a local doctor to prevent the city from extending Record Street south through his land to meet West Patrick Street.Williams, N. (April 2, 1990). "This Maryland House was built just for spite". ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''.
"A Matter of Spite"
. '' Frederick News-Post''.
Frederick also became one of the new nation's leading mining counties in the early 19th century. It exported gold, copper, limestone, marble, iron and other minerals. As early as the American Revolution, Catoctin Furnace near Thurmont became important for iron production. Other mining areas split off into Washington County, Maryland and Allegheny County, Maryland but continued to ship their ore through Frederick to Eastern cities and ports. Frederick had easy access to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which began operations in 1831 and continued hauling freight until 1924. Also in 1831, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) completed its Frederick Branch line from the Frederick (or Monocacy) Junction off the main Western Line from Baltimore to Harpers Ferry, Cumberland, and the Ohio River. The railroad reached
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and St. Louis by the 1850s.


Civil War

Frederick became Maryland's capital city briefly in 1861, as the legislature moved from Annapolis to vote on the secession question. President Lincoln arrested several members, and the assembly was unable to convene a quorum to vote on secession. As a major crossroads, Frederick, like
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
, and Martinsburg, West Virginia, saw considerable action during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. Slaves also escaped from or through Frederick (since Maryland was still a "slave state" although it had not seceded) to join the Union forces, work against the Confederacy and seek freedom. During the Maryland campaigns, both Union and Confederate troops marched through the city. Frederick also hosted several hospitals to nurse the wounded from those battles, as is related in the
National Museum of Civil War Medicine __NOTOC__ The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is a U.S. historic education institution located in Frederick, Maryland. Its focus involves the medical, surgical and nursing practices during the American Civil War (1861-1865). History The ...
on East Patrick Street. A legend related by John Greenleaf Whittier claimed that Frederick's Pennsylvania Dutch women (including
Barbara Fritchie Barbara Fritchie (née Hauer; December 3, 1766 – December 18, 1862), also known as Barbara Frietchie, and sometimes spelled Frietschie, was a Unionist during the Civil War. She became part of American folklore in part from a popular poem ...
who reportedly waved a flag) booed the Confederates in September 1862, as General Stonewall Jackson led his light infantry division through Frederick on his way to the battles of Crampton's, Fox's and Turner's Gaps on
South Mountain South Mountain or South Mountains may refer to: Canada * South Mountain, a village in North Dundas, Ontario * South Mountain (Nova Scotia), a mountain range * South Mountain (band), a Canadian country music group United States Landforms * Sout ...
and Antietam near Sharpsburg. Union Major General
Jesse L. Reno Jesse Lee Reno (April 20, 1823 – September 14, 1862) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Vir ...
's IX Corps followed Jackson's men through the city a few days later on the way to the Battle of South Mountain, where Reno died. The sites of the battles are due west of the city along the National Road, west of Burkittsville. Confederate troops under Jackson and Walker unsuccessfully attempted to halt the Federal army's westward advance into the Cumberland Valley and towards Sharpsburg.
Gathland State Park Gathland State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve located on South Mountain near Burkittsville, Maryland, in the United States. The state park occupies the former estate of war correspondent George Alfred Townsend (1841-191 ...
has the War Correspondents' Memorial stone arch erected by reporter/editor George Alfred Townsend (1841–1914). The 1889 memorial commemorating Major General Reno and the Union soldiers of his IX Corps is on Reno Monument Road west of Middletown, just below the summit of
Fox's Gap Fox's Gap, also known as Fox Gap, is a wind gap in the South Mountain Range of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in Frederick County and Washington County, Maryland. The gap is traversed by Reno Monument Road. The Appalachian Trail also cro ...
, as is a 1993 memorial to slain Confederate Brig. Gen. Samuel Garland Jr., and the
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
troops who held the line. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
, on his way to visit Gen. George McClellan after the Battle of South Mountain and the Battle of Antietam, delivered a short speech at what was then the B. & O. Railroad depot at the current intersection of East All Saints and South Market Streets. A plaque commemorates the speech (at what is today the Frederick Community Action Agency, a Social Services office). At the Prospect Hall mansion off Jefferson Street to Buckeystown Pike near what is now Butterfly Lane, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1863, a messenger arrived from President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
and General-in-Chief Henry Halleck, informing General George Meade that he would be replacing General Joseph Hooker after the latter's disastrous performance at Chancellorsville in May. The Army of the Potomac camped around the Prospect Hall property for the several days as skirmishers pursued Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia prior to Gettysburg. A large granite rectangular monument made from one of the boulders at the "Devil's Den" in Gettysburg to the east along the driveway commemorates the midnight change-of-command. In July 1864, in the third Southern invasion, Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General Jubal Early occupied Frederick and extorted $200,000 ($ in dollars) from citizens for not razing the city on their way to Washington D.C. Union troops under Major General Lew Wallace fought a successful delaying action, in what became the last significant Confederate advance at the Battle of Monocacy, also known as the "Battle that saved Washington." The
Monocacy National Battlefield Monocacy National Battlefield is a unit of the National Park Service, the site of the Battle of Monocacy in the American Civil War fought on July 9, 1864. The battlefield straddles the Monocacy River southeast of the city of Frederick, Maryland. ...
lies just southeast of the city limits, along the Monocacy River at the B. & O. Railroad junction where two bridges cross the stream - an iron-truss bridge for the railroad and a covered wooden bridge for the Frederick-Urbana-Georgetown Pike, which was the site of the main battle of July 1864. Some skirmishing occurred further northeast of town at the stone-arched "Jug Bridge" where the National Road crossed the Monocacy; and an artillery bombardment occurred along the National Road west of town near Red Man's Hill and Prospect Hall mansion as the Union troops retreated eastward. Antietam National Battlefield and South Mountain State Battlefield Park which commemorates the 1862 battles are located 23 miles and 35 miles respectively to the west-northwest. While
Gettysburg National Battlefield The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service. The GNMP proper ...
of 1863 lies approximately to the north-northeast. The reconstructed home of
Barbara Fritchie Barbara Fritchie (née Hauer; December 3, 1766 – December 18, 1862), also known as Barbara Frietchie, and sometimes spelled Frietschie, was a Unionist during the Civil War. She became part of American folklore in part from a popular poem ...
stands on West Patrick Street, just past Carroll Creek linear park. Fritchie, a significant figure in Maryland history in her own right, is buried in Frederick's Mount Olivet Cemetery. British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
quoted Whittier's poem to President Franklin D. Roosevelt when they stopped here in 1941 on a car trip to the presidential retreat, then called "Shangra-La" (now " Camp David") within the Catoctin Mountains near Thurmont.


Late 19th century

Admiral
Winfield Scott Schley Winfield Scott Schley (9 October 1839 – 2 October 1911) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the hero of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. Biography Early life Born at "Richfields" (his father's far ...
(1839–1911) was born at "Richfields", the mansion home of his father. He became an important naval commander of the American fleet on board his flagship and heavy cruiser USS ''Baltimore'' along with Admiral William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba off the shores of the Spanish island colony of
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
in the Spanish–American War in 1898. Major Henry Schley's son, Dr. Fairfax Schley, was instrumental in setting up the Frederick County Agricultural Society and the Great Frederick Fair. Gilmer Schley served as Mayor from 1919 to 1922, and the Schleys remained one of the town's leading families into the late-20th century. Nathaniel Wilson Schley, a prominent banker, and his wife Mary Margaret Schley helped organize and raise funds for the annual Great Frederick Fair, one of the two largest agricultural fairs in the State. Since the 1960s, the fair has featured many outstanding country-western singers and become a major music festival. Schley Avenue commemorates the family's role in the city's heritage. The Frederick and Pennsylvania Line railroad ran from Frederick to the Pennsylvania–Maryland State line, a/k/a
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...
. Chartered in 1867, construction began in 1869 and the line opened October 8, 1872. However, it defaulted on its interest payments in 1874 and acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1875, which formed a new division to operate the rail line. In the spring of 1896, the Frederick and Pennsylvania Line railroad was liquidated in a judicial sale to the Pennsylvania Railroad for $150,000. The railroad survived through mergers and the Penn-Central bankruptcy. However, the State of Maryland acquired the Frederick and Pennsylvania Line in 1982. As of 2013, all but two miles () at the southern terminus at Frederick still exist, operated by either the Walkersville Southern, or the Maryland Midland Railway (MMID) railroads. Jewish pioneers Henry Lazarus and Levy Cohan settled in Frederick in the 1740s as merchants. Mostly German Jewish immigrants organized a community in the mid-19th century, creating the Frederick Hebrew Congregation in 1858. Later the congregation lapsed, but was reorganized in 1917 as a cooperative effort between the older settlers and more recently arrived Eastern European Jews under the name Beth Sholom Congregation. In 1905, Rev. E. B. Hatcher started the First
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
Church of Frederick. After the Civil War, the Maryland legislature established racially segregated public facilities by the end of the 19th century, re-imposing white supremacy. Black institutions were typically underfunded in the state, and it was not until 1921 that Frederick established a public high school for African Americans. First located at 170 West All Saints Street, it moved to 250 Madison Street, where it eventually was adapted as
South Frederick Elementary South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
. The building presently houses the Lincoln Elementary School. The Laboring Sons Memorial Grounds, a cemetery for free blacks, was founded in 1851.


Geography

Frederick is located in Frederick County in the northern part of the state of Maryland. The city has served as a major crossroads since colonial times. Today it is located at the junction of Interstate 70, Interstate 270, U.S. Route 340,
U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
, U.S. Route 40 Alternate and U.S. Route 15 (which runs north–south). In relation to nearby cities, Frederick lies west of
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, north and slightly west of Washington, D.C., southeast of Hagerstown and southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The city's coordinates are 39°25'35" North, 77°25'13" West (39.426294, −77.420403). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city's area is predominantly land, with small areas of water being the Monocacy River, which runs to the east of the city, Carroll Creek (which runs through the city and causes periodic floods, such as that during the summer of 1972 and fall of 1976), as well as several neighborhood ponds and small city owned lakes, such as Culler Lake, a man-made small body of water in the downtown area.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters. It lies to the west of the
fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...
, which gives the city slightly lower temperatures compared to locales further east. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, Frederick has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated ''Cfa'' on climate maps.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the 2010 U.S.
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
, there were 65,239 people residing in Frederick city and roughly 27,000 households. The city's population grew by 23.6% in the ten years since the 2000 census, making it the fastest growing incorporated area in the state of Maryland with a population of over 50,000 for 2010. 2010 census data put the racial makeup of the city at 61%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 18.6%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or African American, 0.2% Native American, 5.8% Asian American, and 14.4%
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race. Roughly 4% of the city's population was of two or more races. In regard to minority group growth, the 2010 census data show the city's Hispanic population at 9,402, a 271 percent increase compared with 2,533 in 2000, making Hispanics/Latinos the fastest growing race group in the city and in Frederick county (267 percent increase). Frederick city had 3,800 Asian residents in 2010, a 128 percent increase from the city's 1,664 Asian residents in 2000. The city's black or African-American population increased 56 percent, from 7,777 in 2000 to 12,144 in 2010. For the roughly 27,000 households in the city, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41% were non-families. Approximately 31% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.11.


2009 American Community Survey

As of 2009, 27.5% of the city's population was under the age of 19, 24.5% were between 20 and 34, 28.1% were between 35 and 54, 9.0% were between 55 and 64, and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age of a Frederick city resident for 2009 was 34 years. For adults aged 18 or older, the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. According to U.S. census data for 2009, the median annual income for a household in Frederick city was $64,833, and the median annual income for a family was $77,642. Males had a median annual income of $49,129 versus $41,986 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $31,123. Approximately 7.7% of the total population, 5.3% of families, and 5.2% of adults aged 65 and older were living below the poverty line. The unemployment rate in the city for adults over the age of 18 was 5.1%. In regard to educational attainment for individuals aged 25 or older as of 2009, 34% of the city's residents had a bachelor's or advanced professional degree, 29.6% had some college or an associate degree, 21.6% had a high school diploma or equivalency, 6.8% had between a 9th and 12th grade level of education, and 3.6% had an 8th grade or lower level of education. The median value of a home in Frederick city as of 2009 was $303,900, with the bulk of owner-occupied homes valued at between $300,000 and $500,000. The median cost of a rental unit was $1,054 per month, with the bulk of rental units priced between $1,000 and $1,500 per month. 2009 census data indicated that roughly 89% of the workforce commuted to work by automobile, with an average commute time of approximately 30 minutes.


Government


City executive

In 2017, Democrat Michael O'Connor was elected mayor of Frederick. Previous mayors include: *Lawrence Brengle (1817) *Hy Kuhn (1818–1820) * George Baer Jr. (1820–1823) * John L. Harding (1823–1826) *George Kolb (1826–1829) * Thomas Carlton (1829–1835) *Daniel Kolb (1835–1838) *Michael Baltzell (1838–1841) *George Hoskins (1841–1847) *M. E. Bartgis (1847–1849) *James Bartgis (1849–1856) *Lewis Brunner (1856–1859) *W. G. Cole (1859–1865) *J. Engelbrecht (1865–1868) *Valerius Ebert (1868–1871) *Thomas M. Holbruner (1871–1874) *Lewis M. Moberly (1874–1883) *Hiram Bartgis (1883–1889) *Lewis H. Doll (1889–1890) *Lewis Brunner (1890–1892) *John E. Fleming (1892–1895) *Aquilla R. Yeakle (1895–1898) *William F. Chilton (1898–1901) *George Edward Smith (1901–1910) *John Edward Schell (1910–1913) *Lewis H. Fraley (1913–1919) *Gilmer Schley (1919–1922) *Lloyd C. Culler (1922–1931) *Elmer F. Munshower (1931–1934) *Lloyd C. Culler (1934–1943) *Hugh V. Gittinger (1943–1946) *Lloyd C. Culler (1946–1950) *Elmer F. Munshower (1950–1951) *Donald B. Rice (1951–1954) *John A. Derr (1954–1958) *Jacob R. Ramsburg (1958–1962) *E. Paul Magaha (1962–1966) *John A. Derr (1966–1970) *E. Paul Magaha (1970–1974) * Ronald N. Young (1974–1990) *Paul P. Gordon (1990–1994) *James S. Grimes (1994–2002) * Jennifer Dougherty (2002–2005) *W. Jeff Holtzinger (2005–2009) *Randy McClement (2009–2017) *Michael O'Connor (2017-)


Recent mayoral elections


Representative body

Frederick has a board of aldermen of six members (one of whom is the mayor) that serves as its legislative body. Elections are held every four years. Following the elections on November 2, 2021, Kelly Russell, Donna Kuzemchak, Derek Shackelford, Katie Nash, and Ben MacShane, all Democrats, were elected to the board. Democrat Michael O'Connor was re-elected mayor.


Police

The city has its own police department.


Economy

Frederick's relative proximity to Washington, D.C., has always been an important factor in the development of its local economy, as well as the presence of Fort Detrick, its largest employer. Frederick is the home of Riverside Research Park, a large biomedical research park located on Frederick's east side. Tenants include the relocated main offices of the
National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. T ...
's
Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) is a United States federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) supported by the National Cancer Institute and managed by the private contractor Leidos Biomedical Research. ...
as well as Charles River Labs. As a result of continued and enhanced federal government investment, the Frederick area will likely maintain a continued growth pattern over the next decade. Frederick has also been impacted by recent national trends centered on the gentrification of the downtown areas of cities across the nation (particularly in the northeast and mid-Atlantic), and to re-brand them as sites for cultural consumption. The Frederick Historic District in the city's downtown houses more than 200 retailers, restaurants and antique shops along Market, Patrick and East Streets. Restaurants feature a diverse array of cuisines, including Italian American, Thai, Vietnamese, and Cuban, as well as a number of regionally recognized dining establishments, such as The Tasting Room and Olde Towne Tavern. In addition to retail and dining, downtown Frederick is home to 600 businesses and organizations totaling nearly 5,000 employees. A growing technology sector can be found in downtown's historic renovated spaces, as well as in new office buildings located along Carroll Creek Park. Carroll Creek Park began as a flood control project in the late 1970s. It was an effort to reduce the risk to downtown Frederick from the 100-year floodplain and restore economic vitality to the historic commercial district. Today, more than $150 million in private investing is underway or planned in new construction, infill development or historic renovation in the park area. The first phase of the park improvements, totaling nearly $11 million in construction, run from Court Street to just past Carroll Street. New elements to the park include brick pedestrian paths, water features, planters with shade trees and plantings, pedestrian bridges and a 350-seat amphitheater for outdoor performances. A recreational and cultural resource, the park also serves as an economic development catalyst, with private investment along the creek functioning as a key component to the park's success. More than 400,000 sf of office space; 150,000 sf of commercial/retail space; nearly 300 residential units; and more than 2,000 parking spaces are planned or under construction. On the first Saturday of every month, Frederick hosts an evening event in the downtown area called "First Saturday". Each Saturday has a theme, and activities are planned according to those themes in the downtown area (particularly around the Carroll Creek Promenade). The event spans a ten-block area of Frederick and takes place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the late spring, summer, and early fall months, this event draws particularly large crowds from neighboring cities and towns in Maryland, and nearby locations in the tri-state area (Virginia and Pennsylvania). The average number of attendees visiting downtown Frederick during first Saturday events is around 11,000, with higher numbers from May to October.


Top employers

According to the county's comprehensive annual financial reports, the top employers by number of employees in the county are the following. ("NR" indicates the employer was not ranked among the top ten employers that year.)


Culture


Cityscape

Frederick is well known for the "clustered spires" skyline of its historic downtown churches. These spires are depicted on the city's seal and many other city-affiliated logos and insignia. The phrase "clustered spires" is used as the name of several city locations such as Clustered Spires Cemetery and the city-operated Clustered Spires Golf Course. The scale of the older part of the city is dense, with streets and sidewalks suitable for pedestrians, and a variety of shops and restaurants, comprising what '' Forbes'' magazine in 2010 called one of the United States' "Greatest Neighborhoods". Frederick has a bridge painted with a mural titled ''Community Bridge''. The artist William Cochran has been acclaimed for the '' trompe-l'œil'' realism of the mural. Thousands of people sent ideas representing "community", which he painted on the stonework of the bridge. The residents of Frederick call it "the mural", "painted bridge", or more commonly, the "mural bridge".


Arts

The Frederick Arts Council is the designated arts organization for Frederick County. The organization is charged with promoting, supporting, and advocating the arts. There are over ten art galleries in downtown Frederick, and three theaters are located within 50 feet of each other (Cultural Arts Center, Weinberg Center for the Arts, and the Maryland Ensemble Theatre). Frederick is the home of The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, a leading non-profit in the region, as well as the Maryland Shakespeare Festival. In August 2007, the streets of Frederick were adorned with 30 life-size fiberglass keys as part of a major public art project entitled "The Keys to Frederick". In October 2007, artist William Cochran created a large-scale glass project titled '' The Dreaming''. The project is in the historic theater district, across from the Wienberg Center for the Arts. The film ''
Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Josh ...
'' (1999) was set in the woods west of Burkittsville, Maryland, in western Frederick County, but it was not filmed there.


Theater

The Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET), a professional theater company, is housed on the lower level of the Francis Scott Key Hotel. The MET first produced mainstage theater in 1997, but the group began performing together with its creation of The Comedy Pigs sketch comedy/improv troupe in April 1993. The students at Hood College also have a theatre club and put on shows at least once during the school year, sometimes two shows are presented during the school year.


Music

Frederick has a community orchestra, the Frederick Symphony Orchestra, that performs five concerts per year consisting of classical masterpieces. Other musical organizations in Frederick include the Frederick Chorale, the Choral Arts Society of Frederick, the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra, and the Frederick Symphonic Band. The Frederick Children's Chorus has performed since 1985. It is a five-tier chorus, with approximately 150 members ranging in age from 5 to 18. A weekly recital is played on the Joseph Dill Baker Carillon every Sunday, year 'round, at 12:30 p.m. for half an hour. The carillon can be heard from anywhere in Baker Park, and the city carillonneur can be seen playing in the tower once a year as part of the Candlelight tour of Historic Houses of Worship, on the first weekday after Christmas. Frederick is home to the Frederick School of Classical Ballet, the official school for Maryland Regional Ballet. Approximately 30 dance studios are located around the city. Each year, these studios perform at the annual DanceFest event. Frederick also has a large amphitheater in Baker Park, which features regular music performances of local and national acts, particularly in the summer months. Clutch, a successful rock band formed in 1990, calls Frederick their home. The band rehearses for each album and tour in Frederick while drummer Jean-Paul Gaster has been a resident of Frederick since 2001. One of the band's biggest hits, "50,000 Unstoppable Watts", was written about Fort Detrick and Frederick. Frederick is also home to indie-rock band
Silent Old Mtns Silent Old Mtns (Silent Old Mountains) is an American indie rock band, formed in Frederick, Maryland, in 2011 by singer songwriter Andrew Bromhal. They have released two full-length albums and are most noted for their energetic and theatrical li ...
. The music video for their 2012 single ''Dead All The Time'' was shot entirely in Historic Downtown Frederick.


Retail

The city's main mall is the Francis Scott Key Mall. An abandoned retail center, the Frederick Towne Mall existed previously, and closed in 2013. There are plans for the Frederick Towne Mall, now known as District 40 to include a movie theatre and new shopping options as construction begins in 2020.


Religion

There are numerous religious denominations in Frederick: the first churches were established by early Protestant settlers, followed by Irish Catholics and other European Catholics. St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Della (now Urbana) is one of the oldest active African-American churches in Frederick County, Maryland, according to a testimonial placed in its cornerstone which stated that it was the first A.M.E. church built in the southern part of Frederick County. It was built in 1916 on a foundation first laid in 1908. Other denominations represented in Frederick City and in the surrounding county include large numbers of Brethren, as well as some
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementAfrican Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...
(A.M.E.) Church, is located on East Third Street. The AME Church, founded in Philadelphia in the early 19th century by free blacks, is the first black independent denomination in the United States.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church) has had a presence in Frederick since the 1970s when the first congregation was organized and now includes four congregations in two buildings within the city. Beth Sholom Congregation, a conservative synagogue, has been in Frederick since 1917. Congregation Kol Ami, a Reform synagogue, was founded in 2003
Chabad Lubavitch of Fredrick
, a Chabad, was founded in 2009. Sri Bhaktha Anjaneya Temple, located in Urbana, serves Frederick's Hindu community. The
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic Society of Frederick, founded in the early 1990s, serves Frederick's
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
community.


Media


Television

Frederick is licensed one Maryland Public Television station affiliate: WFPT 62 (PBS/MPT).


Radio

The city is home to WWFD/820 (the former WZYQ/1370) and 94.3 FM, relaying free-form The Gamut;
WFMD WFMD (930 AM) is a news/talk/sports-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Frederick, Maryland, serving the Frederick/ Hagerstown area. WFMD is owned and operated by Connoisseur Media. Sale WFMD, along with its sister station WFRE, were ...
/930AM broadcasting a news/talk/sports format;
WFRE WFRE (99.9 FM) is a radio station located in Frederick, Maryland, in the United States. It plays Country music and is owned by Connoisseur Media along with its sister station 930 WFMD. Despite the station being located approximately 45 mil ...
/99.9 broadcasting Country Music; and
WAFY WAFY (103.1 FM; "Key 103") is a radio station located in Frederick, Maryland, in the United States. The station currently airs a Hot AC format and is owned by Manning Broadcasting, Inc. History The station was founded in 1990 by Barbara Marmet, ...
/103.1 which plays all the latest pop songs. The following box details all of the radio stations in the local market.


Print

Frederick's newspaper of record is the '' Frederick News-Post''.


Sports

* Frederick Keys, an unaffiliated minor league baseball team that was formerly associated with the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
(1989–2020). The Keys are named after Francis Scott Key, who was a resident of Frederick, and play in Harry Grove Stadium. *
FC Frederick FC Frederick is an association football team playing in the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League). They joined the NPSL in 2015 and play their home games at Thomas Athletic Field on the campus of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. The team ...
, a semi-pro team in the National Premier Soccer League. The club plays home games at Thomas Athletic Field at Hood College.


Education


Library

The main library for Frederick County is located in downtown Frederick, with several branches across the county.


Public schools

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) operates area public schools. FCPS ranks number one in the state of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
in the 2012 School Progress Index accountability data, which includes overall student performance, closing achievement gaps, student growth and college and career readiness. FCPS holds the second-lowest dropout rate in the state of Maryland at 3.84%, with a graduation rate at 93.31%. In 2013, FCPS's SAT average combined mean score was 1538, which is 55 points higher than Maryland's combined average of 1483 and 40 points higher than the nation's average of 1498. All of FCPS's high schools, except for Oakdale High School, which was not open to all grade levels at the time of the survey, are ranked in the top 10% of the nation for encouraging students to take AP classes. High schools serving Frederick City students: * Frederick High School * Governor Thomas Johnson High School * Tuscarora High School * Oakdale High School Other high schools in Frederick County: * Middletown High School *
Catoctin High School Catoctin High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school in Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Athletics The following sports are offered at Catoctin: *Cheerleading *Cross country *Field hockey *Football *Golf *Soccer *V ...
* Brunswick High School *
Linganore High School Linganore High School is an American high school in Frederick County, Maryland. It serves the eastern portion of Frederick County. The school's mascot is the Lancer and its colors are red and black. History Linganore High School Junior-Senio ...
* Urbana High School *
Walkersville High School Walkersville High School (WHS) is a four-year public high school in Walkersville, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The school's colors are blue and gold and athletic teams are known as the "Lions." Overview The school is located nea ...
Other public schools: Adult Education, Career and Technology Center, Heather Ridge School, Outdoor School, Rock Creek School, and The Earth and Space Science Laboratory. Frederick County was long-time home to a highly innovative outdoor school for all sixth graders in Frederick County.. Frederick County Public Schools. This school was located at Camp Greentop, near the presidential retreat at Camp David and Cunningham Falls State Park.


Private K–8 schools

*The Banner School *St. John Regional Catholic School *Frederick Adventist Academy *Trinity School of Frederick, a joint Episcopal-Lutheran school (closed 2017) *
Visitation Academy of Frederick The Visitation Academy of Frederick was a private, all-girls, Roman Catholic school located in the Frederick Historic District in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. History ...
(closed 2016)


K–12 schools

* Maryland School for the Deaf * Friends Meeting School


Private high schools

* Saint John's Catholic Prep *New Life Christian School *Frederick Christian Academy


Colleges and universities

* Frederick Community College *
Hood College Hood College is a private college in Frederick, Maryland. In fall 2018, Hood enrolled 2,052 students (1,092 undergraduate students; 960 graduate students). Thirty-eight percent of students are either members of under-represented racial or ethnic ...
*
Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Ar ...
, Frederick County, Maryland


Transportation

Frederick's location as a crossroads has been a factor in its development as a minor distribution center both for the movement of people in Western Maryland, as well as goods. This intersection has created an efficient distribution network for commercial traffic in and out, as well as through the city. Major roads and streets in Frederick are intersected by: * I-70: A major east–west interstate highway connecting Frederick to
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
and Hagerstown * I-270 Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Highway: Begins at I-70, and spurs southeastward towards Washington, D.C. * U.S. 15 Frederick Freeway: Travels north to
Gettysburg, PA Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to ...
and south concurrent with U.S. 340 to
Point of Rocks, Maryland Point of Rocks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,466. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catocti ...
and Leesburg, Virginia. *
U.S. 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes ...
: Runs concurrent with I-70 and U.S. 15 North until becoming West Patrick Street and Old National Pike to Middletown. * U.S. 340: Runs southwestward with U.S. 15 until spurring west towards Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. From 1896 to 1961, Frederick was served by the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway, an interurban trolley service that was among the last surviving systems of its kind in the United States. The city is served by MARC commuter rail service, which operates several trains daily on the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Old Main Line and Metropolitan Branch subdivisions to Washington, D.C.; Express bus route 991, which operates to the Shady Grove Metrorail Station, and a series of buses operated by TransIT services of Frederick, Maryland. Greyhound Lines also serves the city. Frederick Municipal Airport has a mile-long runway and a second 3600' runway. Beginning in the 1990s, Frederick has invested in several urban infrastructure projects, including streetscape, new bus routes, as well as multi-use paths. A circular road, Monocacy Boulevard, is an important component to the revitalization of its historic core. The Mayor's Ad-hoc Bicycle Committee was formed in 2010 and given the mission to achieve designation for the City as a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) by the
League of American Bicyclists The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizatio ...
. The first application resulted in an Honorable Mention. Upon reapplication In 2012, Frederick achieved the bronze level BFC designation. The City's third application resulted in re-certification as a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community. Work is ongoing to achieve an even stronger designation (Silver) at the time of the next application. In 2013 the Mayor's Ad-hoc Bicycle Committee was expanded in scope to include pedestrian issues and was formally adopted b
Resolution 13-08
as a permanent standing committee called the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). The BPAC advises City officials and staff on the sound development, management, and safe use of The City of Frederick's pedestrian and bicycle systems as they relate to infrastructure, accessibility, and promoting the benefits of these systems.


Notable people

*
Joe Alexander Joe Alexander (ג'ו אלכסנדר; born December 26, 1986) is a Taiwanese-born American-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Liga Leumit. Alexander, who at plays both forward positions, was selected for the ...
(1986), American-Israeli named to the 2007 All-Big East squad; also an All-American Honorable Mention (studied at
Linganore High School Linganore High School is an American high school in Frederick County, Maryland. It serves the eastern portion of Frederick County. The school's mascot is the Lancer and its colors are red and black. History Linganore High School Junior-Senio ...
). *
Scott Ambush Scott Antel Ambush is an American musician, best known as the bass player of jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra. Biography He was born April 28, 1960 in Frederick, Maryland to Webster and Jeanette Lofton Ambush. He attended Urbana Elementary School in U ...
, musician (born in Frederick, Maryland). * John Vincent Atanasoff, inventor of the modern-day computer; lived in Frederick County ( New Market), east of Frederick. *
Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...
(1989), NCAA National Player of the Year (2007–2008), 2nd overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft by Miami Heat (born in Cheverly, Maryland, lived in Frederick, Maryland for one year). * Shadrach Bond (1773–1832), the first
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
(born in Frederick). * Lester Bowie (1941–1999), jazz trumpeter and improviser; born in the historically black hamlet of Bartonsville, where he is buried * William M. Brish, a leader of closed circuit instructional television in public school elementary classrooms (born in Frederick). *
Joe Bussard Joseph Edward Bussard Jr. (July 11, 1936 – September 26, 2022) was an American collector of 78-rpm records. He was noted for owning more than 15,000 records, principally from the 1920s and 1930s, at the time of his death. Early life Bussard ...
(1936-2022), a record collector who helped preserve and celebrate early American blues, country, gospel, and folk music. * Beverly Byron, Congresswoman who resided in Frederick during her time in office. * Fred Carter (born 1945), basketball player from
Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Ar ...
; he starred there in the 1960s, played eight years in the NBA, and was the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers for two seasons * Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley) (1932–1963), country music singer; she married Gerald Cline of Frederick, and lived in town from 1953 to 1957. * David Essig, singer-songwriter, performer and record producer (born in Frederick, Maryland in
United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, currently based in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
). *
Eva Fabian Eva Fabian ( he, אווה פביאן; born August 3, 1993) is an American-Israeli open water swimmer. She was the 2010 world champion in the 5-kilometer swim, and won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in the women's 10k. Early life ...
(born 1993), American-Israeli world champion swimmer (born in Frederick, Maryland). *
Chuck Foreman Walter Eugene "Chuck" Foreman (born October 26, 1950) is a former American football running back who played for the Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots in the National Football League. Considered one of the best passing-catching ba ...
(born October 26, 1950), NFL
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...
(born in Frederick). * Charles Andrew Williams (born February 8, 1986), perpetrator of the Santana High School shooting. *
Barbara Fritchie Barbara Fritchie (née Hauer; December 3, 1766 – December 18, 1862), also known as Barbara Frietchie, and sometimes spelled Frietschie, was a Unionist during the Civil War. She became part of American folklore in part from a popular poem ...
, American Unionist patriot during Civil War (1766–1862). * David Gallaher (born June 5, 1975), writer whose second book, '' Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'', is set in 1950s Frederick; an alumnus of
Hood College Hood College is a private college in Frederick, Maryland. In fall 2018, Hood enrolled 2,052 students (1,092 undergraduate students; 960 graduate students). Thirty-eight percent of students are either members of under-represented racial or ethnic ...
. *
Jessie Graff Jessica Lauren Graff (born January 12, 1984)
Ramblin Wreck. Retrieved on 2013-12-10.
, record-setting female competitor on '' American Ninja Warrior'' (born in New York City, New York, graduated from Urbana High School in Frederick, Maryland in 2002). * John Hanson, the first President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation * Shawn Hatosy (born December 29, 1975), actor * Sam Hinds, MLB player for the Milwaukee Brewers. * Bruce Ivins (1946–2008), scientist at
Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...
suspected of responsibility for the
2001 Anthrax Attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 ...
*
Bradley Tyler Johnson Bradley Tyler Johnson (September 29, 1829 – October 5, 1903) was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer. Although his home state of Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War, Johnson owned and traded slaves, and accordi ...
(1829–1903), soldier, lawyer, and politician * Thomas Johnson (1732–1819), jurist and political figure of the revolutionary and post-revolutionary period; in his later years he lived with his daughter Ann and her husband at Rose Hill Manor in Frederick; Governor Thomas Johnson High School, located on the property, bears his name; a middle school is also named after the governor *
Charlie Keller Charles Ernest Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–43, 1945–49, 1952) and Det ...
: Charles Ernest (Charlie) Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) "Charlie King Kong Keller". MLB Player with the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers; born in Middletown, Maryland; died at his farm near Frederick. * Francis Scott Key (1779–1843), lawyer, author of " The Star-Spangled Banner"; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick; his memorial and family plot is facing the main entrance of the cemetery. * Jacob Koogle (1841–1915), Medal of Honor recipient during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
* Alex Lowe (1958–1999), Alpinist considered to be the greatest alpine climber and skier of his generation, a pioneer in alpine mountaineering and hero of mountain rescues * Charles Mathias (1922–2010), a Republican member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987 *
Claire McCardell Claire McCardell (May 24, 1905 – March 22, 1958) was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear. Early life McCardell was the eldest of four childr ...
(1905–1958), American fashion designer * James E. McClellan (1926-2016), American veterinarian and politician * John McElroy, S.J. (1782–1877), one of two of the Army's first Catholic chaplains. Founder of Boston College.O'Conner, Thomas H. (May 10, 2004). "Breaking the religious barrier". '' The Boston Globe''. * Derrick Miller, US Army Sergeant sentenced to life in prison for premeditated murder of Afghan civilian during battlefield interrogation; granted parole and released after 8 years. * Terence Morris (born January 11, 1979) professional NBA and Israel Basketball Premier League basketball player; attended Gov. Thomas Johnson High School, class of 1997 * John Nelson, U.S. Attorney General, (1843–1845), U.S. Congressman for Maryland's 4th District, (1821–1823); born in Frederick in 1791 * Bazabeel Norman, black Revolutionary War soldier, later to become the second free black landowner in Ohio. * Alexander Ogle (1766-1832), U.S. Congressman *
William Tyler Page William Tyler Page (1868 – October 19, 1942) was an American public servant. He worked on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. for 61 years, first as a page boy and later as a clerk of the United States House of Representatives. He wa ...
(1868 – October 19, 1942), known for his authorship of the American's Creed * Donald B. Rice (born June 4, 1939), served as Secretary of the Air Force from 1989-1993 for President George H. W. Bush * Florence Roberts (March 16, 1861 – June 6, 1940), actress of the stage and in motion pictures; roles include Mother Widow Peep in '' Babes in Toyland'' * Richard P. Ross Jr. (March 18, 1906 - October 6, 1990), decorated brigadier general in the Marine Corps during World War II *
Winfield Scott Schley Winfield Scott Schley (9 October 1839 – 2 October 1911) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and the hero of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. Biography Early life Born at "Richfields" (his father's far ...
(October 9, 1839 – October 2, 1911), rear admiral of the United States Navy who served from the Civil War to the Spanish–American War, was born in Richfields, near Frederick * Bobby Steggert (born March 2, 1981) Tony Award-nominated actor."Bobby Steggart"
''Frederick News Post'', May 14, 2010
*
Roger Brooke Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...
(1777–1864) Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1836–1864); rendered the Dred Scott Decision in 1857; lived and worked in Frederick for several years before his appointment, and is buried there * Theophilus Thompson (1855 after 1873), the first notable African-American chess player, he wrote the book of endgame positions, ''Chess Problems: Either to Play and Mate'' (1873) *
Florence Trail Florence Trail (September 1, 1854 - April 21, 1944) was an American educator and author. Though she belonged to one of the wealthiest families of Maryland, she believed in the doctrine of self-support and left home to engage in teaching, first in ...
, educator, writer * Bryan Voltaggio, chef at Volt in Frederick, runner-up on ''
Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional che ...
'' television program * Mark Burrier, Cartoonist and Illustrator


See also


References


External links


Official city government website
{{Authority control 1745 establishments in Maryland Cities in Maryland Cities in Frederick County, Maryland County seats in Maryland Palatine German settlement in Maryland Pennsylvania German culture in Maryland Populated places established in 1745 Washington metropolitan area Monocacy River Cities in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area