Brookeville, Maryland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brookeville is a town located two miles north of Olney in northeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, which was formally incorporated in 1808. Georgia Avenue (MD State Highway 97), which originates in Washington, D.C. and ends in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, passes through Brookeville. The Brookeville Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[1] The population of the Town of Brookeville was 120 at the 2000 census. The United States Postal Service, however, designates a much broader area as Brookeville than the area that falls within the official town boundaries.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The Madison House in Brookeville was built around 1800 and originally owned by Caleb Bentley. The house provided refuge for President James Madison, on August 26, 1814, after the British burned Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812.

The town was named by the first settler, Richard Thomas, who founded the community in 1794 on land inherited by his wife, Deborah Brooke, from her father Roger Brooke IV, son of an influential Quaker landholder, James Brooke. Thomas named it for his wife's family. Brookeville served as a market town for the agriculture industry in the surrounding area. During the nineteenth century, Brookeville was home to several mills, the Brookeville Academy (initially a boys school)^[2], a post office, blacksmith's shop, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Salem Methodist Protestant Church, and a number of shops.^[1] Brookeville was also home to Thomas Moore, Jr. who, along with Caleb Bentley, was instrumental in creation of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Historically, Georgia Avenue was a key route north out of Washington, D.C. During the War of 1812, when the British burned parts of Washington, D.C., the Federal government and troops fled to Brookeville, where they set up a temporary Government headquarters and treasury. On August 26, 1814, President James Madison stayed in the home of Caleb Bentley, the First Postmaster of Brookeville. Since then, Brookeville has the distinction of being capital of the United States for one day. After the British left Washington they sailed to nearby Baltimore and attacked Fort McHenry, during which what would become the national anthem of the United States was composed. Troops from Brookeville marched overland to join the fight at Baltimore harbour.

Oakley cabin

The Oakley Farm, located on the western edge of Brookeville, thrived during the 1700s and 1800s. Log cabins were built on the farm, just before or after the Civil War for slave or tenant housing. Several of these log cabins survived into the 1990s, however all but one have since been destroyed by arson. The Oakley Cabin is maintained by the Montgomery County Department of Parks and is open to the public on the last Saturday of each month. A number of other 17th and 18th century cabins still exist on private property in the Brookeville area.

North on Georgia Ave into Brookeville, 2006

By 1900, the mills and shops had shut down, and Brookeville remained a residential town.^[3]

[edit] Geography

Brookeville is located at 39°10′50″N, 77°3′29″W (39.180482, -77.057939)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²), all land. Reddy Branch, a tributary of the Patuxent River, flows along the north and eastern edges of the town.

Areas beyond the formal town boundaries, within the zip code, 20833, which extends from Olney to the Howard County boundary, are also often considered Brookeville. Within the zip code, but not within Brookeville itself, are the small hamlets of Sunshine and Brighton.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 120 people, 44 households, and 30 families residing in the town. The population density was 356.4/km² (933.6/mi²). There were 46 housing units at an average density of 136.6/km² (357.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.50% White, 0.83% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.50% of the population.

There were 44 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $88,629, and the median income for a family was $93,444. Males had a median income of $80,000 versus $61,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $43,483. There were 7.1% of families and 5.5% of the population living below the poverty line, including 2.9% of under eighteens and 25.0% of those over 64.