Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Carroll County is included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area. While predominantly rural, southern areas of the county have become increasingly suburban in recent years.
History
Prior to European colonization, the land that now makes up Carroll County was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. Numerous Native American archaeological sites and archeological artifacts have been located across the county. Native Americans used the land for permanent settlements, seasonal visits and journeys, and as hunting grounds.
18th century
At the time of European colonization, the Susquehannock and the Lenape were the predominant indigenous nations in the area. They spoke Iroquoian and Algonquian languages, respectively. Present-day Manchester, which was inhabited by the Susquehannock nation until around 1750, was where the two important Native American trails intersected. An ancient trail that was used by Algonquian and Iroquois nations, named the "Patapsco-Conewago (Hanover) Road" by colonists, stretched from the Susquehanna River to the Potomac River. Main Street in Westminster was built on a portion of the trail between the two rivers.
By the end of the 18th century, most roads in Carroll County followed trails that had been established by Native Americans.
19th century
Maryland Route 26 (Liberty Road) was built over what was originally a Native American trail, which passed through the Freedom area of southern Carroll County and was used by Native Americans to travel from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Chesapeake Bay. The trail was developed as a road and renamed "Liberty" by an act of the Maryland General Assembly in the early 1800s. The land of what is now Sykesville was used by the Susquehannock and the Lenape as hunting grounds.
Taneytown was inhabited by the Tuscarora people during the early to mid-1700s. The Tuscarora, also Iroquoian speakers, hunted deer, wolves, wildcats, and otters in the woodlands of what is now Taneytown.
Due to the Six Nations land cessions, the Tuscarora were expelled westward by European Americans across the South Mountain of the Cumberland Valley.
Carroll County was created in 1837 from parts of Baltimore and Frederick Counties. The county was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was one of 56 delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia who unanimously signed the United States Declaration of Independence.
The earliest European settlers in Carroll County were predominantly Pennsylvania Dutch from southeast Pennsylvania and English from the Tidewater region of Maryland. German was the predominant language of Carroll County until the Civil War. German was most heavily spoken in the northern and western parts of the county. Despite their English namesakes, the towns of Hampstead, Manchester, and Taneytown had German majorities. English-speakers were a minority and were concentrated in southern Carroll. English was not adopted as the official language of Carroll County until 2013.
During the American Civil War, the population of Carroll County was sharply divided between supporters of the Union and the Confederacy. In 1863, there were significant troop movements through the county as part of the Gettysburg campaign. On June 29, 1863, the cavalry skirmish known as Corbit's Charge was fought in the streets of Westminster, when two companies of Delaware cavalry attacked a much larger Confederate force under General J. E. B. Stuart.
20th century
During the 1970s, Carroll County was a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan and the Klan regularly held rallies and cross-burnings. The KKK held rallies and handed out leaflets on Main Street in Westminster and in Manchester until the late 1980s.
21st century
In 2012, two minors were charged for a cross-burning in Westminster. In 2018, the KKK distributed fliers in southern Carroll County.
In 2013, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted to make English the official language of the county. In 2018, the Carroll County Public Schools announced that Confederate flags and Nazi swastikas would be banned from Carroll County schools, along with Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation symbolism and other messages that promote hatred or intolerance.
Geography
thumb|250px|right|Farm in Carroll County, Maryland
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.
Topographically, Carroll County is located within the Piedmont Plateau region, with characteristic upland terrain of rolling hills and deciduous forest. The most prominent relief is Parr's Ridge, which bisects the county from southwest to northeast. The highest point is an unnamed hilltop a half-mile south of the Pennsylvania state line in the northeastern part of the county off Harvey Yingling Road.
Carroll County is bordered on the north by the Mason–Dixon line with Pennsylvania, and on the south by Howard County across the South Branch of the Patapsco River. About half of the eastern border, with Baltimore County, is formed by the North Branch of the Patapsco River and by Liberty Reservoir, though the northern half near Manchester and Hampstead is a land border. Carroll County is bordered on the west by Frederick County, across the Monocacy River and Sam's Creek. Other major streams in the county include Big Pipe Creek, Little Pipe Creek, and Double Pipe Creek, Bear Branch, and the headwaters of the Gunpowder Falls. The Piney Run Reservoir is in the southern part of the county.
Three railroad lines cross Carroll County. The old Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Old Main Line crosses the southern part of the county from east to west, with former stations in Sykesville and Mount Airy. The original Western Maryland Railway (WM) main line track runs southeast to northwest through Carrollton, Westminster, New Windsor, and Union Bridge. The old Baltimore and Hanover Railroad (later acquired by WM) runs further to the east through Hampstead, Millers, and Lineboro. Two of these railroad lines are now operated by CSX Transportation; the former WM main line is now operated by Maryland Midland Railway.
Carroll County has two water reservoirs at present, Liberty and Piney Run; the county has also proposed a Union Mills Reservoir and Gillis Falls Reservoir.
Climate
The county is divided by the January freezing isotherm into a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa.) The hardiness zones are 6b and 7a.
Adjacent counties
- York County, Pennsylvania (northeast)
- Baltimore County (east)
- Howard County (south)
- Montgomery County (southwest)
- Frederick County (west)
- Adams County, Pennsylvania (northwest)