Havre de Grace (pronounced HA-ver dih grace) (HdG) is a city in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,331 (17,866 in the HdG zip code, 33,491 in the Aberdeen-Havre de Grace area) at the 2000 census. Havre de Grace is named after the port city of Le Havre, France. Its name in French means "Harbor of Grace", though not using the French pronunciation, HOV'reh dih grahs.
Havre de Grace is a small city but has in recent years expanded by the process of annexing land. Housing development is moderate but steady and includes the re-building of blighted areas into middle class homes. Havre de Grace will prosper during the next few years as a result of the BRAC activities of the Department of Defense which will relocate activities from various bases to Aberdeen Proving Ground, a few miles away. This will increase the population with additional skilled and professional employed residents. Havre de Grace also claims a renovated seaplane port. There are five public schools and the oldest hospital in Harford County, Harford Memorial Hospital.
Havre de Grace's location on the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay and the outlet of the Susquehanna River makes it popular for recreation. There are marinas and service operators along the shore line. There is also a city yacht basin and park where various events occur each year. A promenade and boardwalk that runs along the shore from the Concord Point Lighthouse to the yacht basin was devastated by Hurricane Isabel and was rebuilt recently.
Havre de Grace has a long history, having lost the election to be the nation's ultimate capital to Washington, D.C., by only one vote.[1]
Geography
Havre de Grace is located at 39°32′54″N 76°5′51″W / 39.54833°N 76.0975°W / 39.54833; -76.0975 (39.548412, -76.097554)[2] at the mouth of the Susquehanna River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14.0 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.4 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (25.23%) is water.
Two railroad mainlines pass through Havre de Grace. More than 80 daily passenger trains on Amtrak's busy Northeast Corridor speed through Havre de Grace at 90 miles per hour (145 km/h) on an elevated line for traversing the adjacent Susquehanna River Bridge.[3] The double-track bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1904–1906 for its New York City–Washington, D.C. line. CSX Transportation's bridge, originally constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, carries a heavy volume of freight.[3]
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 11,331 people, 4,557 households, and 2,870 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.1 people per square mile (1,085.6/km²). There were 4,904 housing units at an average density of 1,218.4/sq mi (469.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.24% White, 16.15% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population.
There were 4,557 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.07. Over half (54%) of the housing units in the city are renter-occupied.
In the city the population was spread with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,218, and the median income for a family was $53,838. Males had a median income of $37,985 versus $27,173 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,176. About 7.5% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.
Revitalization
Havre de Grace was once a place with a substantial poverty rate prior to the 1990s (19.6%) with only 9,000 residents, but it is now becoming increasingly upscale. Per capita income has doubled over the 1990-2000 era, while the people in poverty grew little compared to the arrival of wealthier residents to the newer suburban projects of the city. The African-American community of Havre De Grace has remained almost constant, while new suburban developments during the 1990s and today have brought thousands of middle-to-upper-class residents to the town. Many working-class caucasians that used to occupy the city have also relocated due to rising land values and blighted housing being demolished. One of the most prominent examples of this blighted renewal was the demolition of the Tranquility Place Townhomes during 2005.The amount of drug trafficking in the area caused the city to do so, and crime has decreased accordingly.The only large-scale incident since then was a gang-related fist fight involving at least 100 people at the Carnival of 2006, a steady rate of assaults, and 2 homicides, one drug related within proximity to the TPT site, within city limits. Construction of new housing in the blighted areas has begun already.
History
Early history
During the Revolutionary War the small hamlet known as Harmer's Town was visited several times by General Lafayette, who commented that the area reminded him of the French seaport of Le Havre, which had originally been named Le Havre-de-Grâce. Inspired by Lafayette's comments, the town was incorporated as Havre de Grace in 1785.
On May 3, 1813, during the War of 1812, Havre de Grace was under siege by British Admiral George Cockburn. Lieutenant John O'Neill single-handedly defended the city of Havre de Grace by firing a cannon at the British fleet as they approached on the Susquehanna River. He was wounded, captured by the British, and released eventually upon his daughter's petition to Admiral Cockburn. In gratitude Havre de Grace made John O'Neill and his descendants the hereditary keepers of the lighthouse marking the exit of the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay. The lighthouse keeper's house has been recently restored as a museum. The city of Havre de Grace was sacked and burned, with only two houses and a church spared destruction. Havre de Grace was rebuilt, and during 1878 the town became a city with the establishment of its own government. Around that time, Havre de Grace had a number of citizens who participated with the activities of the "Underground Railroad" in the forwarding of former slaves to safe haven.
1800s era
The early industry of Havre de Grace included oyster and crab harvesting and fruit orchards. It was also the southern terminus for the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal and later the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, which carried freight up and down the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and connected to the Pennsylvania Canal. The Lock Keepers house and remnants of the canal exist today as a museum. There are also a few tenant farm houses left over from the Mitchel farm which overlooked the city. Havre de Grace was also known for duck hunting and hunters stayed at its hotels and used local guides to escort them hunting. A strong cottage industry of decoy making soon sprang up.
During the civil war, a large population of free African Americans found a home there by the 1860s, so much so that it became one of the seven sites for the recruiting of “U.S. Colored Troops” during the Civil War. Harford County was typically Confederate sympathizers, with Confederate Generals and many men enlisting in the Army of Northern Virginia. Havre de Grace, being in the tidewater area of Harford County, was atypically split in its attitudes toward the Confederacy, allowing blacks to find a safe haven under the protection of the caucasian Northern-sympathizers.[citation needed]
20th Century
Havre de Grace was known as "The Graw" from 1912 through the 1950s, and it prospered as a stop for travelers. These included gangsters and gamblers en route to New York City from the south following the pony routes. The Havre de Grace Racetrack operated from 1912-1950. Alphonse Capone was reported to have spent some time at the former "Crazy Swede" (now known as "Ken's Steak and Rib House"). However, at the end of the 1950s, the horse track was removed, and its rights were sold to Pimlico.
An incident during 1949 involving the denial of a license to use a city park and the subsequent arrest of a Jehovah's Witnesses preacher led to the Supreme Court case of Niemotko v. Maryland.
More recently, as of the 1980s, Havre de Grace has been undergoing a complete reconstruction, turning blighted communities into new housing. This includes the addition of Uptown Havre de Grace.
The city has benefited through development of new properties and venues in the last few years. Many blighted areas have been redeveloped into a range of different types of housing.
Today
In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel destroyed the boardwalk and flooded the city about 2 blocks into downtown. In 2004, with very strong efforts from Americorps NCCC,[5] the promenade was reconstructed, and now serves as a waterfront board walk and nature walk from Tydings Park to the Maritime Museum, and on to Concord Point Lighthouse.
A new hospital and school is already proposed for the area with the addition of Bulle Rock, and a new medical center has recently been built on Route 40.
In keeping with the history of having had a race track in town a local developer has proposed a development to be called "The Graw" to include a working equestrian park. This is one of many plans proposed for tracts of re-developable land recently cleared of blighted housing. Industrial chemical ground contamination in the area limits the type of construction that can be done in this particular section of the city. Havre de Grace's version of Main Street, Washington Street, is prospering due to its historic bars and antique shops. New condominiums are being built near the water; these serve as both full-time and summer homes and increase the city population every summer.
Pronunciation
Despite the French origin of the name, it is locally pronounced pronounced /haver duh grace/.[6]
Local Color
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Local media covering Havre de Grace
References
- ^ "Havre de Grace, Maryland - baltimoresun.com (Home > Travel)". Baltimore Sun. 2009-03-06. http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/bal-travel-havredegrace,0,5865113.story. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b Volin, Rudy (July 6, 2006). "Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md.". Trains. http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=532. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ www.americorps.org
- ^ John Kelly's Washington Live
External links
