Gaithersburg, Maryland Totally Explained

Everything about Gaithersburg Maryland totally explained

Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland. As of 2005, the city had an estimated total population of 57,698, making it the fourth largest in the state behind Baltimore, Rockville, and Frederick. This city is located at 39°8' North, 77°13' West, to the northwest of Rockville, the county seat of Montgomery County. Gaithersburg was incorporated in 1878.
Gaithersburg is urbanistically diverse, encompassing a historic Old Town, multiple new urban communities, high-rise apartments, and many suburban subdivisions.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is headquartered in Gaithersburg. Other major employers in the city include IBM, ACE*COMM, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services business area headquarters, MedImmune (recently purchased by AstraZeneca), and Sodexho.

History

Gaithersburg began in 1765 as a small agricultural settlement known as Log Town, gaining the name Gaithersburg a few years later. In 1850, the post office was named "Forest Oak". In 1873 the B&O Railroad constructed a station at Gaithersburg, designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin as part of his well-known series of Victorian stations in Maryland. Rapid growth occurred shortly thereafter, and on April 5, 1878 the town was officially incorporated as the City of Gaithersburg.
In 1899, Gaithersburg was selected as one of six global locations for the construction of an International Latitude Observatory as part of a project to measure the earth's wobble on its polar axis. The Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory is (as of 2007) the only National Historic Landmark in the City of Gaithersburg. The observatory and five others in Japan, Italy, Russia, and the United States gathered information that's still used by scientists today, along with information from satellites, to determine polar motion; the size, shape, and physical properties of the earth; and to aid the space program through the precise navigational patterns of orbiting satellites. The Gaithersburg station operated until 1982 when computerization rendered the manual observation obsolete.

Geography

Gaithersburg is located at 39°7'55" North, 77°13'35" West (39.131974, -77.226428).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.2 square miles (26.3 km²), of which, 10.1 square miles (26.1 km²) of it's land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it's water. The total area is 0.69% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 52,613 people, 19,621 households, and 12,577 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,216.2 people per square mile (2,013.3/km²). There were 20,674 housing units at an average density of 2,049.7/sq mi (791.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.2% White, 15% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 13.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.6 from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 19.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.3% of Gaithersburg's population was foreign-born.
There were 19,621 households out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.14 the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 37.7% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $59,879, and the median income for a family was $66,669. Males had a median income of $44,331 versus $35,861 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,323. 7.1% of the population and 4.9% of families were below the poverty line. 7.2% of those under the age of 18 and 11.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

Gaithersburg has an elected, five-member City Council, which serves as the legislative body of the city. The Mayor, who is also elected, serves as president of the council. The day-to-day administration of the City is overseen by a career City Manager, currently Jim Arnoult.
Its current mayor is Sidney A. Katz. (1998-). Previous Mayors include:

George W. Meem 1898–1904
Carson Ward 1904–1906
John W. Walker 1906–1908
E. D. Kingsley 1908–1912
Richard H. Miles 1912–1918
John W. Walker 1918–1924
Walter M. Magruder 1924–1926
William McBain 1926–1948
Harry C. Perry, Sr. 1948–1954
Merton F. Duvall 1954–1966
John W. Griffith 1966–1967
Harold C. Morris 1967–1974
Susan E. Nicholson, May-September 1974
Milton M. Walker 1974–1976
B. Daniel Walder 1976–1978
Bruce A. Goldensohn 1978–1986
W. Edward Bohrer, Jr. 1986–1998
Sidney A. Katz 1989 -

The departments of the city of Gaithersburg and their directors include:

Office of the City Manager, Jim Arnoult (Acting)

Assistant City Manager, Frederick J. Felton
Assistant City Manager, Tony Tomasello.

Planning and Code Administration, Gregory Ossont

Neighborhood Services, Kevin Roman
Animal Control, Lisa Holland
Planning Department, Lauren Pruss
Permits and Inspections, Wesley Burnette

Information Technology, Peter Cottrell

Parks, Recreation, and Culture, Michele McGleish

Police, John A. King

Public Works, Jim Arnoult

Transportation

The road network is centered at the intersection of the north-south Frederick Avenue (Maryland State Highway 355) and the east-west Diamond Avenue (Maryland State Highway 117). It is also connected to Frederick and Rockville by Interstate 270, which also connects it with the Capital Beltway. Shady Grove station, the western terminus of the Red Line of the Washington Metro, is just outside the city limits of Gaithersburg. Interstate 370 — which presently connects I-270 with the Shady Grove station — terminates in Gaithersburg's city limits, transitioning into Sam Eig Highway near Washingtonian Center. If the Intercounty Connector, an as-yet-unbuilt highway to Laurel, Maryland, is constructed, I-370 will become its western portion and Gaithersburg its terminus.
   Gaithersburg is served by WMATA Metrobus, Montgomery County Ride-On bus service and three MARC stations on the Brunswick Line — at downtown Gaithersburg, Washington Grove, and Metropolitan Grove. Additionally, the State of Maryland is considering construction of a light rail or bus rapid transit line from Shady Grove Metro station to Clarksburg, Maryland called the Corridor Cities Transitway that, if built, would have several stations in Gaithersburg.
   The mainline of the CSX Railroad bisects Montgomery County and runs as many as 50 trains a day through the center of Gaithersburg. The MARC trains run on the CSX tracks, as do Amtrak trains.
   The Montgomery County Airpark (IATA airport code: GAI) is a short distance outside Gaithersburg city limits. It serves general aviation purposes and is the only airport in Montgomery County.

Education

Gaithersburg is served by Montgomery County Public Schools. Elementary schools that serve Gaithersburg include:

Brown Station Elementary School

Candlewood Elementary School

Diamond Elementary School

Darnestown Elementary School

Fields Road Elementary School

Flower Hill Elementary School

Gaithersburg Elementary School

Goshen Elementary School

Jones Lane Elementary School

Judith A. Resnik Elementary School

Laytonsville Elementary School

Rachel Carson Elementary School

Rosemont Elementary School

Strawberry Knoll Elementary School

Summit Hall Elementary School

Thurgood Marshall Elementary School

Washington Grove Elementary School

Whetstone Elementary School
Middle schools that serve Gaithersburg include:

Forest Oak Middle School

Ridgeview Middle School

Gaithersburg Middle School

Lakelands Park Middle School

Neelsville Middle School

Cabin John Middle School

Robert Frost Middle School

Redland Midlle school

Kingsview Middle School

Shady Grove Middle School High schools that serve Gaithersburg include:

Gaithersburg High School

Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School

Northwest High School

Quince Orchard High School

Thomas S. Wootton High School

Watkins Mill High School

Media

Gaithersburg is primarily served by the Washington, DC media market.

Newspapers

Gaithersburg is home to Gazette Newspapers, a publisher of weekly community newspapers in suburban Maryland, including the Gaithersburg Gazette

. The Town Courier

newspaper is based in Kentlands and focuses on Gaithersburg's west side neighborhoods, in addition to publishing Rockville and Urbana editions.

Television and Internet

Gaithersburg's city government operates Gaithersburg Television

, which focuses on the city issues and is streamed online. Gaithersburg topics are discussed on the controversial and non-affiliated blog Gaithersblog

Famous People from Gaithersburg

Judah Friedlander- actor, most notably from the television show 30 Rock.

Hank Fraley- football player currently starting at center for the Cleveland Browns.

Eddie Stubbs- American country musician, disc jockey, and Grand Ole Opry Announcer.

References and footnotes

Further Information

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