History
Cockeysville was
named after the Cockey family which helped establish the town. Thomas Cockey (1676-1737) settled in Limestone Valley in 1725 at Taylor's
Hall (an area now just north of Padonia Road and east of I-83). Joshua Frederick Cockey (1765-1821) built one of the first homes in
the area in 1798 and built the first commercial structure (a hotel) in 1810 in what would become the village of Cockeysville. His
son, Judge Joshua F. Cockey (1800-1891) lived lifelong in the village and built the train station (what would be part of the Pennsylvania
Railroad) and accompanying commercial buildings in the 1830s.
Cockeysville was the scene of some Civil War activity. Confederate
soldiers pushed into the Baltimore area intending to cut off the city and Washington from the north. On July 10, 1864 Cavalry General
Bradley T. Johnson led troops into Cockeysville, destroying telegraph lines and tearing up track along the Northern Central Railway.
They also burned the first bridge over the Gunpowder Falls, just beyond nearby Ashland, Maryland.
President Abraham Lincoln travelled
through Cockeysville on the Northern Central Railway enroute to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to deliver the Gettysburg Address on November
19, 1863. Less than two years later, on April 21, 1865, Lincoln's Funeral Train also passed through Cockeysville on its way from Washington,
D.C. to his final resting place at Springfield, Illinois.[1][2]
After the war, Joshua F. Cockey, III (1837-1920) founded the
National Bank of Cockeysville (1891) and other commercial ventures in the community, as well as developed dwellings along the York
Turnpike (now York Road) that made up the village of Cockeysville.
Geography
Cockeysville is located at 39°28'24?N, 76°37'36?W
(39.473273, -76.626703)[3].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.4 square miles (29.6
kmē), of which, 11.3 square miles (29.2 kmē) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 kmē) of it (1.31%) is water.
The town lies
north of the Baltimore beltway (I-695) along I-83 and York Road. It is bordered on the north by Hunt Valley, Maryland, on the east
by the Loch Raven Reservoir, on the south by Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, and on the west by Mays Chapel, Maryland. Most commercial
activity is concentrated along York Road.
Transportation
Roads
York Road
Main article: Maryland Route 45
Maryland Route 45,
better known as York Road, is the main commercial corridor that runs through the Cockeysville and Hunt Valley areas.
Shawan Road/Tufton
Avenue
Shawan Road/Tufton Avenue runs west-east between Hunt Valley and the Owings Mills/Reisterstown area. It is identified as Shawan
Road from York Road to Falls Road, and Tufton Avenue from Falls Road to its end at Greenspring Avenue/Worthington Avenue. The road
is mostly undeveloped west of I-83, but is used by many motorists as a cross-county route between Owings Mills or Reisterstown andHunt Valley. However, there are a few notable landmarks on the road, including: Hunt Valley Town Center, Hunt Valley Light Rail Stop,
Oregon Ridge Park, and the home of former Major League Baseball star Cal Ripken Jr.. Shawan Road is exit 20 off I-83.
Warren
Road
Main article: Maryland Route 943
Warren Road begins as exit 18 off I-83, then continues in an eastward direction throughCockeysville, mostly as a residential two-lane road. The road originally ran east to the town of Warren, Maryland, which was a mill
town on the Gunpowder Falls, flooded out in the 1920s with the enlargement of the Loch Raven Reservoir. Today Warren Rd goes over
the reservoir and changes names to Merrymans Mill Road on the east side. Located on Warren Road is the Warren Road Light Rail Stop.
Maryland Transit Administration Bus Route 9 also operates on most of Warren Road.
Cranbrook Road
Padonia Road
Padonia Road is an
extension of Broadway Road which starts at Greenspring Avenue in Owings Mills, then changes names to Padonia Road at Falls Road. The
road then continues east in a winding pattern through an upscale community, until at reaches an interchange with I-83 (exit 17). The
following few blocks are mostly commercial, lined with shopping centers, offices, and hotels. Soon after York Road, Padonia Road once
again becomes residential up until its end. Located on this residential section is Dulaney High School.
Beaver Dam Road/McCormick
Road
Paper Mill Road
Main article: Maryland Route 145
Public transportation
Cockeysville and Hunt Valley are well known in the Baltimore area
as a result of their public transportation, particularly the Light Rail line. Hunt Valley is the northern terminus of the line, and
the area is also served by Bus Route 9. Only one-half of light rail trains operate to the Hunt Valley area during rush hours, with
the other half running only as far as the Timonium Fairgrounds Station at these times. The frequency of service past this point is
only 20 minutes during rush hour, and 15 minutes midday and on weekends when all trains operate to Hunt Valley. Bus Route 9 operates
at similar frequencies at most times.
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 19,388 people, 9,176 households, and
4,450 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,718.4 people per square mile (663.6/kmē). There were 9,606 housing
units at an average density of 851.4/sq mi (328.8/kmē). The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.97% White, 8.87% African American, 0.29%
Native American, 9.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino
of any race were 3.39% of the population.
There were 9,176 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 35.9% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.5% were non-families.
38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 18.9% under the age
of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.
The
median income for a household in the CDP was $43,681, and the median income for a family was $62,266. Males had a median income of
$40,732 versus $32,177 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $29,080. About 4.7% of families and 8.2% of the population
were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Local institutions
Schools
Padonia
International Elementary
Warren Elementary School
Cockeysville Middle School
Dulaney High School (in neighboring Timonium)
Library
Cockeysville Public
Library
Commerce and Industry
A quarry, dating back to the 19th century, produces limestone and marble, including some of the marble
used in the construction of the Washington Monument. It is said that the whiter portion towards the bottom half of the monument originated
from this quarry, but since construction was halted when money ran low, the monument had to be finished using a cheaper, different
colored stone.
The main commercial attraction in the Hunt Valley area is the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, formerly Hunt Valley Mall,
located along Shawan Road. Located nearby are several upscale hotels and other shopping centers.
Hunt Valley is the home of Greetings
& Readings, Firaxis Games, BreakAway Games, Sinclair Broadcast Group, McCormick & Company, AAI Corporation, AmTote, Dunbar,
TESSCO Technologies, and KCI Technologies, Inc. It was the former home of Noxell Corporation, makers of Noxzema, before Noxell was
acquired by Procter and Gamble in the early 1990s. It was also the former home of PHH Corporation, prior to its relocation a few miles
north to Sparks, Maryland. MicroProse, a leading video game developer from the 1980s, was originally based in Hunt Valley, as was
Maryland Specialty Wire, a manufacturer of stainless steel wire for over fifty years, until its closure in 2003. The Marriott Hunt
Valley Inn is a frequent site of National Football League meetings and science fiction conventions, hosting Balticon, Shore Leave,
Farpoint, Horrorfind and other theme-related conventions.
