Cordova is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Talbot County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 551 at the 2020 census, down from 592 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Cordova is located at (38.877699, −75.990973). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. It is located north of Easton, east of

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 592 people, 214 households, and 167 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 230 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.70%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.80%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% from other races, and 0.17% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population. There were 214 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.5% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.15. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $34,792 versus $27,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $15,534. About 17.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 23.1% of those age 65 or over. As of 2012, out of the residents ages 25 and over, 73.9% possess a high school degree, 5.2% possess a bachelor's degree, and 2.4% possess a graduate or bachelor's degree. For the population of residents 15 and over, 24.9% have never been married, 58.8% are now married, 2% are separated, 1.7% are widowed, and 12.7% are divorced. There were 49 veterans living in Cordova as of 2011.

History

Just north of town, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church was founded on a farm in 1765. Tapper's Corner Road runs east of town to Lewistown Road, near the head of a creek which flows () into the Tuckahoe; this creek was called Kentucky, nearby once stood the cabin of Betsey Bailey, the grandmother of

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

; he believed he was born there. A gas station on the main road operated for many years. Remnants of the service station still stand. Many homes located within the village center were built by ordering from

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. Lumber was shipped to Cordova via the railroad in the 1920s and 1930s. At one time the town had a doctors office and general store that are now homes. This town had a cannery and chicken processing plant. Since 1962, the Cordova Volunteer Fireman's Association has held a 3-night country fair starting the first Thursday of August on the grounds behind the firehouse. On May 18, 1995, an F2

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

touched down in the town and left a 10-mile path of destruction with over $1 million in damage.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Talbot County, Maryland Census-designated places in Maryland