Brookeville

Brookeville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located 20 km (12 mi) north of Washington, D.C. The population was 134 at the 2010 census. Brookeville was settled by Quakers late in the 18th century. It was formally incorporated as a town on August 26, 1808. During the American Civil War, Brookeville, along with nearby Sandy Spring, was a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1966, county planning officials recommended that a bypass be built to carry commuters around the town. The project is currently under construction and is projected to be completed in summer of 2021. In 1883, Sherwood High School opened as a Friends school and became a public school in 1909, serving Brookeville and other nearby areas. The town is governed by a three-person town commission, while surrounding unincorporated areas are administered by the county. The United States Postal Service defines a larger area as Brookeville than what falls within the town boundaries. This includes areas extending to the Patuxent River and the Howard County border, and including the small hamlets of Sunshine and Brighton. Reddy Branch Stream Valley Park surrounds the Town of Brookeville. Other parks and recreational areas include Rachel Carson Conservation Park, PatuxENT River State Park, and the Triadelphia Reservoir. The Brookeville Academy was an important educational institution for the community in the 19th century, and is still in operation today. In 1794, Quakers Richard Thomas and his wife Deborah Brooke founded the town, and named it after her family.

Overview

Brookeville is an affluent residential community, with a large portion of residents employed with the government or related professional jobs. The town is governed by a three-person town commission, while surrounding unincorporated areas are administered by the county. Reddy Branch Stream Valley Park surrounds the Town of Brookeville, with the creek flowing west to east towards the Patuxent. Other parks and recreational areas include Rachel Carson Conservation Park, PatuxENT River State Park, and the Triadelphia Reservoir. The Brookeville Academy was an important educational institution for the community. In 1883, Sherwood High School opened as a Friends school and became a public school in 1909, serving Brookeville and other nearby areas. In 1966, county planning officials recommended that a bypass be built to carry commuters around the town. The project is currently under construction. Construction is projected to be completed in summer of 2021. The USPS defines a larger area as Brookeville than what falls within the town boundaries. This includes areas extending to thePatuxent River and the Howard County border, and including the small hamlets of Sunshine and Brighton. Areas to the north of Brookevile in Howard County and Carroll County have also experienced rapid population growth. These areas to thenorth into Montgomery County and Washington, D.C. are known as "Brookevile" and "Brookesville" The town was founded in 1883 and was named after the town's first postmaster, William Brooke, who was born in 1875.

History

Quakers Richard Thomas and his wife Deborah Brooke founded the town of Brookeville in 1794. The town was established on land inherited by Deborah Brooke from her father Roger Brooke IV, son of an influential Quaker landholder, James Brooke. Brookeville was home to several mills, the Brookeville Academy (initially a boys' school), a post office, blacksmith's shop, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Salem Methodist Protestant Church, and a number of shops. During the Civil War, George B. McClellan sent Union troops (First and Ninth Corps) through Brookeville, on their way to Antietam. The Quakers played instrumental role in aiding escaped slaves in the area. Nearby Sandy Spring was also an important stop on the underground railroad during the civil war. By the mid-19th century, the church has been destroyed by fire, and the cemetery has been there since the mid 20th century. In 1910, the Salem United Methodist Church was built to replace another church that was destroyed by a fire. The church has since been destroyed, but the cemetery is still there. The Oakley Farm, located on the western edge of the town, thrived during the 18th and 19th centuries, to house slaves and later free black families. Thomas Moore, Jr. was instrumental in creation of the United States Department of Agriculture. He created a portable contraption to transport butter and other products to sell at markets in Washington, D.C. He is also credited as the inventor of the first refrigerator.

Geography

Brookeville is located in northeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, close to the Patuxent River and the Howard County border. Georgia Avenue, which is a major northsouth route through this part of Maryland, passes through the Town of Brookeville. Brookeville residents have advocated for a bypass road to be constructed, to take traffic around the town. The project is under construction as of May 2019 and is anticipated to be completed by summer 2021. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brookeville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.12 square miles (0.31 km²), all land. The Triadelphia Reservoir is a popular recreation spot that is suitable for fishing, kayaking, and other activities. Within the town itself, Powers' Woods Park is a new 2-acre (8,100 m2) park that is slated to be located near a recently restored one-room schoolhouse. The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission maintains 6,000 acres (24 km²) in and around the reservoir, which are open to the public for recreational purposes. In 1989, the road carried 8,000 vehicles daily, a number which had increased to 18,000vehicles each weekday as of 2007. The town is located 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Olney, and covers an area of0.1 square miles [0.26 km²].

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of 120; there were 44 households, out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The racial makeup of the town was 97.50% White, 0.83% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. The larger area defined as Brookeville by the postal service, within the 20833 ZIP Code, has aPopulation of 6,259. The median purchase price for homes in the Brookeville area in 2006 was $546,500, which compares to $475,000 for all of Montgomery County, and $243,750 for the entire United States. 76.2% of the population over age 16 is in the labor force. Average commuting time is 35.9 minutes, with 84.1% driving alone, 9% carpooling, 2.3% using public transportation, and 3. 1% working at home. Most people are employed in management, professional, and related occupations, with 59.5% in those types of jobs. The area has a very high rate of home ownership, with 93.3%. The median household income is $103,879, compared to a national average of $41,994. The town has a well-educated population, with 57.6 per cent of those age 25 or older having a college education. The average household income in the town is $88,629, compared with $21,587 for the national average.

Government

Brookeville was incorporated as a town in 1808 and the charter formally issued in 1890. Town commissioners oversee the government, handling street maintenance and other matters, as well as town planning. Brookeville is located in Maryland's 8th congressional district, which is represented in the U.S. Congress by Jamie Raskin (D) The town adopted a Historic Preservation Ordinance in 1986, which guides town planning and restricts development within the town. The town commission consists of three members, who are elected for two-year terms. Michael Acierno was elected in May 2007 as president of the Brookeville Town Commission. The city is in the Maryland House of Delegates, represented by District 14 representatives, Anne Kaiser (D), Craig Zucker (D, and Eric Luedtke (D). Karen S. Montgomery (D)'s represents Brookeville in the State Senate, representing District 14 in Maryland. The mayor of Brookeville, Maryland, has been the mayor of the town for the past six years, and is a Democrat. He was elected to a second term in 2006. The current mayor is Michael Acerno, who was elected for a third term in 2007, and has been in office since 2008. The Town Commission is made up of three people, all of whom are elected to two year terms. The council has a total of seven members, and the mayor is the only member of the board of directors, who has been elected for three years in a row.

Education

The Brookeville Academy was one of the first schools in Howard County. The original building has since been used as a meeting facility by the American Legion and other organizations. Sherwood High School first opened in 1883 as a Friends school and became a public school in 1909. Most of Brookeville, including the town proper, is located in the service area for Rosa Parks Middle School and Greenwood Elementary School. Some areas, bordering Howard County, are located the service areas for William H. Farquhar Middle and Sherwood Elementary schools. The Longwood Recreation Center is run by the Montgomery County Recreation Department. In 1988, the original building was sold to the Town of Brooksville, which maintains the building as a historic site and use for events. Up until 1992, when Rosa Parks middle school opened, all of Brookevile was within the Farqhar service area. The town is part of Montgomery County Public Schools system, and is served by Sherwood high School, which first opened on June 2, 1883. The school was vacated in 1963, and remained vacant until 1978, when it was converted into a community recreation center. It is now part of the Longwood School for Boys, a private school that was established in 1946 by George F. Kimmell, who had bought Longwood Manor. In 1952,Kimmell leased the school facilities to the Civil Defense Administration, which used it for military training. In 1963, the school was vacating its facilities and becoming a community center.

Transportation

Maryland Route 97 is the only state highway serving Brookeville directly. MD 97 follows High Street and Market Street within the town limits, becoming known as Georgia Avenue outside of town both to the north and south. After departing Brookeville, MD 97 heads north to a junction with Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40 on its way to Westminster, while to the south, it intersects Interstate 495 before ending at US 29 just outside of Washington, D.C. The name Georgia Avenue follows US 29 south into the city. The highway was built in the early 1900s and is the oldest state highway in Maryland. It was named after Georgia Avenue, a street in the town of Brookeville. The current MD 97 was created in the late 1930s and was the first state highway to be named after a major city in the state. The state highway was named for the town's first post office, which was opened in 1838. It is the longest state highway still in the United States, with a total length of 1,856 miles (1,938 kilometers) The highway's name is derived from the name of a road in Brookeville that was once known as "Georgia Avenue" It was also named for a street that once led to the town, which is now called "High Street" and "Market Street" It is also known as the "Maryland Turnpike" because of the turnpike's junction with the Maryland Turnpikes, which run through the town.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Brookeville, Montgomery County, Maryland = 42.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 50. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Brookeville = 4.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 2,578 individuals with a median age of 39.5 age the population grows by 22.50% in Brookeville, Montgomery County, Maryland population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,185.71 residents per square mile of area (459.09/km²). There are average 2.72 people per household in the 54 households with an average household income of $110,419 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.40% of the available work force and has dropped -2.42% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.76%. The number of physicians in Brookeville per 100,000 population = 563.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Brookeville = 42.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 13.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 103. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 202. 88 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 26.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 43, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Brookeville, Montgomery County, Maryland which are owned by the occupant = 82.46%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 10.1 years with median home cost = $529,550 and home appreciation of -5.93%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $12.02 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,183 per student. There are 14.9 students for each teacher in the school, 340 students for each Librarian and 308 students for each Counselor. 1.03% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 25.77% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 38.14% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).