Joppatowne, Maryland

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Joppatowne is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,391 at the 2000 census. It is in the Joppa part of Harford County, and was developed as a Planned Unit Development (PUD).

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

The original Joppa Town was a major seaport and commercial hub in the eighteenth century. The town proper was located on what is now called Rumsey Island (which is not, and never was, an island), where the Big Gunpowder Falls and Little Gunpowder Falls meet to form the Gunpowder River. The only original building remaining is the Rumsey Mansion, once home of colonial patriot Benjamin Rumsey. There are original building foundations and gravesites on the adjacent Church of the Resurrection property. Ruins of the original wharf and docks, as well as the town jail, were still visible until hurricane Agnes swept through in 1972.

Joppa Town was the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland from 1712 to 1769. Present-day Harford County was part of Baltimore County until 1773.

Joppa Town's "mile wide harbor" on the Gunpowder River could accommodate the largest ocean going ships of the day. Joppa and Ellicott City, MD were Maryland's most important commercial centers in colonial times, with tobacco being the primary export. They were once among the busiest seaports in the western hemisphere, long before Baltimore was established.

Joppa Town was also a vital hub for land transportation, and it was said that "all roads lead to Joppa". Joppa Town was the original terminus for Joppa Road, which ran north to what is now Towson, Maryland, and beyond. Joppa Road connected to York Road for points north, and to Rolling Road to points west. The original post road to Philadelphia also went through Joppa Town, and a ferry across the Gunpowder River connected to points south via what is now Chase, Maryland and Eastern Avenue. Many famous colonial figures invariably passed through and boarded at Joppa Town.

Economic growth was also stimulated via the establishment of various commercial enterprises just north of Joppa Town, utilizing water power from the Little Gunpowder Falls. The most notable of these is the still standing Jerusalem Mill complex in Kingsville, Maryland, which, among other enterprises, fabricated weapons for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

By the end of the eighteenth century, agricultural and other land development upstream caused the Gunpowder River and Joppa Town's harbor to silt up, making access by large ships impossible. Ellicott City's port suffered a similar fate. Baltimore and Annapolis became Maryland's major shipping ports, and by 1814 Joppa Town was mostly abandoned.

Joppa Town and its immediate surroundings were used for farming (mostly string beans) until the Panitz Company began development of the planned community called "Joppatowne" in 1961. The original Joppa Town site, including the Rumsey Mansion, were slated to become Joppatowne's "swim and tennis club". The efforts of a few concerned historical preservationists went ignored until the matter was brought to the attention of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Mrs. Kennedy convinced the developers to relocate the swim club, and to cede the land where colonial Joppa Town's church stood to the Episcopal Church, who held arguable claim to the property as the US descendant of the Church of England. The Panitz Company also sold and donated additional adjacent lots to the Episcopal Church, effectively preserving most of the land where Joppa Town stood.

The Episcopal Church subsequently re-consecrated the grounds and built the aptly-named Church of the Resurrection adjacent to the foundation of the original "St. John's Parish" of Joppa Town in 1970. The Church of the Resurrection has proved an excellent custodian of this site and its history, preserving its archaeological ruins and serving as a repository for documents, research, and artifacts related to colonial Joppa Town.

Gunpowder Town, or simply Gunpowder, was a failed English settlement that pre-dated colonial Joppa Town, and was located close to it. This first attempt to establish an English settlement on the Gunpowder River was reportedly abandoned because it proved to be a poor location choice. Though documents and records exist for the settlement, including official papers in the archives of the United Kingdom, nobody knows exactly where it was located. It was somewhere just west or northwest of present-day Joppatowne, probably in what is now the swamps and marshland of the confluence of the Little Gunpowder, Big Gunpowder, and Bird River. Some speculate it was located somewhat further north. No trace of the "lost town of Gunpowder" is known to have ever been found.

The inhabitants of Gunpowder, and the St. John's Parish, relocated briefly to another short-lived settlement in the area of present day Joppatowne, sometimes referred to as the Foster Branch settlement. It was located on the eastern bank of the Gunpowder River, near the stream known as Foster Branch (or "Foster's Branch"), at or below the southernmost boundary of present-day Joppatowne. Again, its precise location is unknown, but was reportedly abandoned due to an outbreak of smallpox. From there, St. John's Parish moved inland, to where the Officer's Club at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground is currently located, and relocated to Joppa Town in the early 1700s. After the decline of Joppa Town, St. John's Parish was finally moved to nearby Kingsville, Maryland in the late 1700s.

[edit] Geography

Joppatowne is located at 39°24′54″N, 76°21′22″W (39.414887, -76.356171)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²). 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (6.78%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 11,391 people, 4,366 households, and 3,217 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 639.3/km² (1,656.7/mi²). There were 4,530 housing units at an average density of 254.2/km² (658.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.50% White, 10.31% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.31% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.98% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.

There were 4,366 households out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $57,799, and the median income for a family was $61,528. Males had a median income of $40,224 versus $29,055 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,024. About 4.0% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.