Reply to Western Maryland

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "Western Maryland "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am surprised to learn how many of you are apparently startled to learn that there is this thing call "Appalachia."

I mean, I don't disagree with most of the explanatory responses about industry +/- , etc.

For those of you posting to say that you 'couldn't believe' you saw this or that on your way to the corporate retreat @ Deep Creek ... did you not previously know about Appalachian poverty and the exit of  industry?  Or maybe  you thought all of Maryland was like Kensington with a little Chesapeake Bay on the weekends?  Am genuinely curious.[/quote]

We know about Appalachian poverty. I had never heard of Cumberland and was just surprised that in that beauty, was like a mini Baltimore slum.  Also, when you think of poverty, you think something has always been poor or that way.  Cumberland clearly has the bones of something that was once not so.  Again, like Baltimore.  Maybe I need to get out and visit depressed towns more but I’ve been to Martinsville, West Va and that didn’t strike me in the same way.

[/quote]

Baltimore and Cumberland were once connected by the canal and railroad trade routes when that was the industrial transportation. Obviously there was a lot of money in Cumberland until the trade died.

"Cumberland was a key road, railroad and canal junction during the 19th century and at one time the second largest city in Maryland (second to the port city of Baltimore—hence its nickname "The Queen City"). The surrounding hillsides provided coal, iron ore, and timber that helped supply the industrial revolution. In addition, the city was a major manufacturing center, with industries in glass, breweries, fabrics, and tinplate. However, following World War II, it began to lose much of its industrial importance and its population declined from 39,483 residents in the 1940 census to fewer than 22,000 today.[1]"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cumberland,_Maryland
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics