Editing Burkittsville, Maryland

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Burkittsville, Maryland
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Burkittsville street.JPG
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Main Street in Burkittsville
|image_flag               = Flag of Burkittsville, Maryland.png
|image_seal               = Seal of Burkittsville, Maryland.png

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map = Frederick_County_Maryland_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Burkittsville_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location of Burkittsville, Maryland
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Maryland]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Maryland|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = {{Start date and age|1894}}<ref name="msaMMO">{{cite book|title=Burkittsville, Municipalities, Frederick County, Maryland|url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/burkittsville/html/b.html|work=Maryland Manual On-Line|access-date=January 28, 2019|language=en-US}}</ref>

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_24.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=April 26, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 1.19
|area_land_km2            = 1.18
|area_water_km2           = 0.01
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.46
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.45
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 142
|population_density_km2   = 120.70
|population_density_sq_mi = 312.78

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = −05:00
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = −04:00
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 551
|coordinates              = {{coord|39|23|30|N|77|37|33|W|region:US-MD_type:city(159)|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]
|postal_code              = 21718
|area_code                = [[Area codes 301 and 240|301, 240]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = {{FIPS|24|11400}}
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2390762<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2390762}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.burkittsville-md.gov/|Burkittsville-MD.gov}}
|footnotes                = 
}}
'''Burkittsville''' is a historic village in [[Frederick County, Maryland]], United States. The village lies in the southern [[Middletown Valley]] along the eastern base of [[South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]].

Burkittsville is a residential area with an economy based in agriculture and tourism. The village was the scene of the [[Battle of Crampton's Gap]], part of the [[Battle of South Mountain]] during the [[Maryland Campaign]] of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] on September 14, 1862. Burkittsville was also made a subject of national attention when it was used as the setting of the 1999 horror film ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]''. Nearby attractions include the [[Gathland State Park]] and the [[Appalachian Trail]]. A [[Gravity hill]] also exists nearby on Gapland road.

The population was 142 as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].

==History==
[[File:David Arnold House, Burkittsville, MD.jpg|thumb|Harley/Arnold Farm]]
English settlement in this region began in the early 18th century. Land was being surveyed and patented in the south-western portion of the Middletown Valley beginning in the 1720s. The first land tract to be patented within the present boundaries of Burkittsville was "Dawson's Purchase", dated May 14, 1741.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tracey|first1=Grace|last2=Dern|first2=John|title=Pioneers of Old Monocacy: The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland 1721-1743|date=1987|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.|location=Baltimore, MD|isbn=0-8063-1183-5|page=363}}</ref> The Harley/Arnold Farm, located on the western border of the village at the base of South Mountain, stands on the "Dawson's Purchase" tract.

Burkittsville was first founded by two property owners: Major Joshua Harley and Henry Burkitt. The western half was first founded as "Harley's Post Office" in 1824. After Harley's passing in 1828, Burkitt renamed it Burkittsville. Over the next thirty years it grew as a community with stores, shops, blacksmiths, a schoolhouse, and a tannery.

On September 13, 1862, Confederate cavalry under command of Colonel Thomas Munford (under General [[J.E.B. Stuart]]) occupied Burkittsville. On Sunday, September 14, the forces of the Union and Confederate armies engaged in the [[Battle of Crampton's Gap]], a bloody prelude to the [[Battle of Antietam]]. The Reformed and Lutheran churches and adjacent schoolhouse were used as hospitals for the more than 300 wounded of both sides. These buildings still stand today.

Routinely characterized as the trigger to Antietam, victory at [[Crampton's Gap]] embodied Union Gen. [[George B. McClellan]]'s strategic reaction to his acquiring the legendary “[[Lost Order]]” at Frederick which disclosed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's campaign movements. It was McClellan's intention to “cut the enemy in two and beat him in detail”.
[[File:Burkittsville Cemetery MD1.jpg|left|thumb|Union Cemetery in Burkittsville, established in 1831.]]

After seizing Crampton's Gap Gen. William B. Franklin failed to relieve the besieged Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, and more importantly to prevent Confederate generals James Longstreet and “Stonewall” Jackson from reuniting at Sharpsburg. There Lee hastily stood his ground in the mammoth battle of Antietam, the war's bloodiest day. President [[Abraham Lincoln]] then used the marginal Union victory at Antietam as a springboard to his Emancipation Proclamation which changed war aims. Without the fall of Crampton's Gap there would have been no Antietam.

Nearly all of Burkittsville is a [[Burkittsville Historic District|historic district]], listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on November 20, 1975. The {{convert|300|acre|ha}} district includes about 70 contributing structures.<ref name=nrhpnom1>{{cite web|last=Way|first=Lawrence A.|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Town of Burkittsville|url=http://www.mdihp.net/dsp_county.cfm?search=county&criteria1=B&criteria2=FR&criteria3=&id=10358&viewer=true|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 31, 2011|author2=Cooper, H. Austin|author3=Stowell, Walton D.|author4=Winslow, Barbara|author5=Winslow, Mary K.|date=May 1975|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719143311/http://www.mdihp.net/dsp_county.cfm?search=county&criteria1=B&criteria2=FR&criteria3=&id=10358&viewer=true|archive-date=July 19, 2011}}</ref> The Burkittsville Historic District is itself part of the larger [[Crampton's Gap Historic District]], which comprises the southern portion of the lands involved in the Battle of South Mountain, extending from the western side of Crampton's Gap, over [[South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]] and about a mile to the east of Burkittsville.<ref name=nrhpnom2>{{cite web|last=Phifer|first=Paige|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Crampton's Gap Historic District|url=http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/pdfs/CramptonGap.pdf|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 30, 2011|author2=Wallace, Edie|author3=Reed, Paula|date=March 14, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419155707/http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/pdfs/CramptonGap.pdf|archive-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

===''Blair Witch''===
Burkittsville gained popularity with the [[1999 in film|1999]] film ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'' and [[Blair Witch (franchise)|the franchise]].

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|0.45|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 25, 2012}}</ref>

==Transportation==
[[File:2019-05-19 13 41 57 View south along Maryland State Route 17 (Potomac Street) between Main Street and Lake Side Drive in Burkittsville, Frederick County, Maryland.jpg|thumb|right|MD 17 southbound leaving central Burkittsville]]
The main method of travel to and from Burkittsville is by road. The only significant highway serving the town is [[Maryland Route 17]], which follows Potomac Street within the town limits. To the north, MD 17 connects to [[Middletown, Maryland|Middletown]] and eventually reaches [[Interstate 70 in Maryland|Interstate 70]] in [[Myersville, Maryland|Myersville]]. Heading south, MD 17 interchanges with [[U.S. Route 340 in Maryland|U.S. Route 340]] just before reaching [[Brunswick, Maryland|Brunswick]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 293
|1880= 280
|1890= 273
|1900= 229
|1910= 228
|1920= 200
|1930= 173
|1940= 177
|1950= 190
|1960= 208
|1970= 221
|1980= 202
|1990= 194
|2000= 171
|2010= 151
|2020= 142
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 25, 2013}}</ref> there were 151 people, 69 households, and 42 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was {{convert|335.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 74 housing units at an average density of {{convert|164.4|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 99.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] and 0.7% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 69 households, of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.79.

The median age in the town was 50.5 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 to 44; 43.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

===2000 census===
[[File:Burkittsville MD4.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Resurrection Reformed Church]]
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 171 people, 72 households, and 49 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|415.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 76 housing units at an average density of {{convert|184.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 94.74% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.17% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]] and 4.09% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]. 1.8 percent of the population is [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 72 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,313, and the median income for a family was $53,125. Males had a median income of $45,833 versus $30,417 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $24,919. About 4.1% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including none of those under the age of eighteen and 5.6% of those 65 or over.
{{Clear}}

==Points of interest==
* P.J. Gilligan Dry Goods & Mercantile Co. (1821)
* Burkittsville Union Cemetery 
* South Mountain Heritage Society Museum (2002)
* Spook Hill Cider & Wine 4-Mile Run <ref>{{Cite web|title=Spook Hill Cider and Wine 4 Mile Run|url=https://www.spookhill4mile.org/|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Spook Hill Cider and Wine 4 Mile Run|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Burkittsville, Maryland}}
*{{Official website}}
* [https://www.facebook.com/Burkittsville.Maryland Burkittsville Facebook Page] Official town [[Facebook]] Page
*{{MHT url|id=350|title=Burkittsville Historic Trust}} National Register of Historic Places - Burkittsville Maryland
*[https://www.southmountainheritage.org/ South Mountain Heritage Society]
*[http://www.burkittsvillepreservationassociation.org Burkittsville Preservation Association, Inc.]

{{Authority control}}

{{Burkittsville, Maryland}}
{{Frederick County, Maryland}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{The Blair Witch Project}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkittsville, Maryland}}
[[Category:Burkittsville, Maryland| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1824]]
[[Category:Towns in Maryland]]
[[Category:Towns in Frederick County, Maryland]]
[[Category:1824 establishments in Maryland]]