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Place Name
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Allegany County
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Pronunciation
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ala-GAI-NEE
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Place Status (Type)
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county
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Capital is
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Cumberland
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Population
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74,946 (1990)
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Location
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Maryland, United States, North America
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Latitude
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39°38'N
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Longitude
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78°42'W
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Allegany
(ala-GAI-NEE), county (
429 sq mi/1,111 sq km; 1990 pop.
74,946), W Md.;  Cumberland; 39°38'N 78°42'W. Bounded N by
Pa. state line (Mason-Dixon Line), S by the Potomac and its North
Branch (forms W.Va. state line here); drained by Evitts, Wills, and
other creeks. The name comes from an Indian word meaning “beautiful
stream,” according to legend. A spectacular break in the mts. at
Cumberland, known as the Narrows, opened the way W to early pioneers.
The natl. road, cut through the gorge with its
1,000 ft/305 m high walls, was the first
highway built with Federal funds. Cumberland also lies at the end of
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Preserved in what was Fort Cumberland,
now Riverside Park, is the one-room cabin in which George Washington
made his headquarters during the Fr. and Indian Wars of the 1750s.
Appalachian ridge and valley county (E and central) includes Wills Mt.;
the Alleghanies (W) include Dans Rock and Savage Mt. (NW corner).
Bituminous-coal mines, lignite mines, clay pits, timber; glass, clay,
stone mfg. at Cumberland. Agr. in fertile valleys, apples, peaches,
maple syrup, dairy prods. Hunting, fishing. Co. includes Pratt Green
Ridge State Forest (E) and Cumberland Narrows across Wills Mt. Mfg.
enterprises are mainly food processing, apparel, and transportation
equip. The basically rural county has a high level of unemployment due
to declines in agr. and fishing. Formed 1789.
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