Cockeysville, Maryland-Cedar Herald Index

Cockeysville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,776 at the 2010 census.

History

Cockeysville was named after the Cockey family who helped establish the town. Thomas Cockey (1676–1737) settled in Limestone Valley in 1725 at Taylor's Hall (an area now just north of Padonia Road and east of Interstate 83). Joshua Frederick Cockey (1765–1821) built one of the first homes in the area in 1798 and built the first commercial structure, a hotel, in 1810 in what would become the village of Cockeysville. His son, Judge Joshua F. Cockey (1800–1891), was a lifelong resident in the village. As a businessman before being appointed as judge, in the 1830s he built the train station (which would be a stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad) and accompanying commercial buildings.

Cockeysville, Maryland

Cockeysville was the scene of some Civil War activity. Confederate soldiers pushed into the Baltimore area, intending to cut off the city and Washington from the north. On July 10, 1864, Confederate cavalry under General Bradley T. Johnson entered Cockeysville, destroying telegraph lines and track along the Northern Central Railway. They also burned the first bridge over the Gunpowder Falls, just beyond nearby Ashland.

Cockeysville, Maryland

After the war, Joshua F. Cockey III (1837–1920) founded the National Bank of Cockeysville (1891) and other commercial ventures in the community, as well as developing dwellings along the York Turnpike (now York Road) that made up the village of Cockeysville.

Cockeysville, Maryland

Stone Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Baltimore County School No. 7 was listed in 2000.

Local institutions

Cockeysville is home to the Cockeysville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library and the Historical Society of Baltimore County.

Schools in Cockeysville

Public schools: Padonia International Elementary Warren Elementary School Cockeysville Middle School Dulaney High School in Timonium, Maryland, which is nearby to Cockeysville MD

Private schools: St. Joseph School (Pre-K - 8)

Grand Lodge

The Grand Lodge of Maryland, Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons, is located in Cockeysville on a campus. It includes a castle-like structure known as Bonnie Blink ("Beautiful View" in Scots), which is the retirement home for Master Masons, Eastern Star ladies and eligible family members. Located throughout the Grand Lodge are detailed, hand-laid tile storyboards depicting Masonic themes.

Adjacent to the Grand Lodge building is the Freemason's Hall, containing the Maryland Grand Lodge Museum. The museum has the desk that George Washington resigned his commission on, prior to becoming president, a rare Latin Bible from 1482, and some jewels and regalia of Maryland's past Grand Masters.

Commerce and industry

The Texas Quarry, near of the intersection of I-83 and Warren Road, dating back to the 19th century, produces limestone and marble, including the marble used in the first phase of construction (1848–54) of the Washington Monument, the whiter portion towards the bottom half of the monument. During the second phase of construction (1880–84) the monument had to be finished using a slightly different-colored stone, most of which came from the Beaver Dam Quarry (now Beaverdam Pond) near the intersection of Beaver Dam Road and McCormick Road.

Blocks of local marble were also used in 1836 as rail supports in the track bed for the Padonia Road section of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad (which later became part of the Northern Central Railway); the use of marble instead of wood was an experiment that was soon after abandoned.

Geography

Cockeysville is located at (39.473273, −76.626703), north of the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695) along Interstate 83 and York Road. It is bordered on the east by Loch Raven Reservoir, on the south by Timonium, and on the west by rural Baltimore County. Most commercial activity is concentrated along York Road.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and of it (1.21%) is water.

Geology

The Precambrian, Cambrian, or Ordovician Cockeysville Marble underlies much of Cockeysville and has been quarried there.

Transportation

Roads

Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (I-83) Beaver Dam Road Cranbrook Road McCormick Road Padonia Road Paper Mill Road/Ashland Road (MD-145) Shawan Road Warren Road (MD-943) York Road (MD-45)