Stockton, Maryland
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Stockton 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 Worcester 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 population was 92 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.


History

Stockton, originally called Sandy Hill, grew up at the crossing of the post road from Snow Hill south to
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
(whose track is generally followed by modern Maryland Route 12) with the road from Mattapony Landing on the
Pocomoke River The Pocomoke River stretches approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 from southern Delaware through southeastern Maryland in the United States. At i ...
to the Chincoteague Bay (the eastern part of which is now Maryland Route 366), where small ocean-going vessels could drop anchor. The landing on Chincoteague Bay came to be known as George Island Landing. Settlement in the area began in the 1660s, when the area was still part of Somerset County. Worcester County was separated from Somerset in 1742, and by 1774 Sandy Hill had grown large enough to merit a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
within All Hallows' Parish, today called Holy Cross Chapel. Sandy Hill, unlike neighboring Girdletree, was never incorporated, but in 1870 the name of the town was officially changed, by act of the legislature, from Sandy Hill to Stockton, commemorating the Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, a prominent Methodist minister. In 1872 the Worcester County
election district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
which took its name from Sandy Hill was renamed Stockton. In 1876, a railroad (which would eventually become part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
) was laid from Franklin City and Greenbackville in Virginia to Snow Hill. The line's main purpose was to haul seafood harvested from the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and Chincoteague Bay to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, but the line also carried passengers. To avoid confusion with other Stocktons around the country, the station at Stockton was named Hursley Station. The center of Stockton was destroyed by fire in 1906, but was soon rebuilt, with many of the new buildings constructed of brick. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Stockton boasted a hotel, five churches, a post office, three stores, a canning factory, two sawmills, and two barrel factories. However, the
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...
of Chincoteague Bay led to a permanent decline in the commercial seafood industry. A new Stockton High School was dedicated in 1926. Grades 7-11 were discontinued in 1942, but first through sixth grades continued until 1960, when the school was closed. Stockton's only bank failed in 1929. Passenger trains ended service in the late 1940s, and the last freight trainmade its final run through Stockton in approximately 1955. Holy Cross Chapel stopped holding regular services in 1943. Gunby Presbyterian Church holds only one service per month. The Stockton Poultry Plant opened as
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
ended, but closed around 1970. Today, Stockton residents are as likely to work at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's Wallops Island Flight Facility on the
Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia is the easternmost region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It consists of two counties (Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack and Northampton County, Virginia, Northam ...
than to be farmers or watermen. The post office was closed in 2012, and no business of any kind is now in operation.


Geography

Stockton is located at (38.057233, −75.416661). 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. Maryland routes 12 and 366 intersect in the center of Stockton. An extensive network of manmade canals is located approximately two miles east of Stockton.https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Stockton,+MD&sll=38.04701,-75.367928&sspn=0.13924,0.43499&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Stockton,+Worcester,+Maryland&ll=38.040901,-75.365471&spn=0.002281,0.004753&t=h&z=18 Satellite view of canal network


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 143 people, 49 households, and 39 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 55 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 37.06%
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 ...
, 60.84%
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 ...
, 1.40% Native American, and 0.70% from two or more races. There were 49 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% 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, 26.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.23. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 66.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $14,583, and the median income for a family was $25,833. Males had a median income of $13,750 versus $0 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 $5,776. There were 42.3% of families and 45.0% of the population living 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 63.8% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.


References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Worcester County, Maryland Census-designated places in Maryland Salisbury metropolitan area Populated coastal places in Maryland Poverty in Maryland