Accident, Maryland
Location of Accident, Maryland
Coordinates: 39°37′41″N 79°19′12″W / 39.62806, -79.32
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Garrett
Area
- Total	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km²)
- Land	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	2,385 ft (727 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	353
- Density	711.1/sq mi (274.6/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	21520
Area code(s)	301
FIPS code	24-00225
GNIS feature ID	0582858

Accident is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, United States. The population was 353 at the 2000 census. The town is home to Northern Garrett High School.

History

Accident, Garrett County, Maryland was one of the early settlements in the far west of Maryland. How did this spot get the name "Accident?" Mary Strauss in Flowery Vale: A History of Accident, Maryland,(Parson, West Virginia: McClain Printing Col, 1986), p. 1, provides an interesting story of axe marks on a tree, and conflicting claims,^[1] but she has the sequence of events backwards,^{[citation needed]} and it is more likely, given that a number of counties had tracts of land called 'Accident,' that Brooke Beall happened on the land by chance, liked it, and chose the name accordingly.

When Lord Baltimore opened up the area he called Monocacy Manor to settlement in the early 1770s, Brooke Beall secured permission to survey 778 acres (3.15 km²). It will never be known for certain how Beall came to choose this particular spot, but the surveyor was given clear instructions where to start. He was to begin "in the center between two bounded white oak trees, standing on the North Side of the South fork of Bear Creek in or near a glade about one Hundred yards from said Run, about one or two Miles above a Lick known by the name of the "Cole Mine Lick," about four miles (6 km) above the mouth of Broad Creek and about one mile (1.6 km) East of a Ridge of the Negroe Mountain." John Hanson, Jr., later a delegate to the Continental Congress, and President of the United States in Congress Assembled, on April 14, 1774, surveyed the land, finding that it only contained 682 acres (2.76 km²). For the next twelve years nothing was done with the survey. Revolution intervened, and it was not until February 15, 1786, that the land was granted by means of a patent to William Deakins. The following year the surrounding countryside was surveyed into military lots by Francis Deakins, lots that were meant as compensation for the officers who served from Maryland during the War of independence.

Detail from the original Francis Deakins 1787 survey of lots westward of Fort Cumberland, Library of Congress. Reproduced in Edward C. Papenfuse and Joseph M. Coale, The Maryland State Archives Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003),p. 204

John Hanson, Jr's original certificate of survey is on line at the Maryland State Archives, among the surveys for Washington County.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

Accident is located at 39°37′41″N, 79°19′12″W (39.628074, -79.319996)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 353 people, 138 households, and 96 families residing in the town. The population density was 711.1 people per square mile (272.6/km²). There were 162 housing units at an average density of 326.3/sq mi (125.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was:

• 99.72% White
• 0.28% from two or more races
• 0.00% African American
• 0.00% Native American
• 0.00% Asian
• 0.00% Pacific Islander
• 0.00% Other
• 0.00% Hispanic or Latino of any race

There were 138 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 73.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,500, and the median income for a family was $40,556. Males had a median income of $25,250 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,950. About 10.9% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 24.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents and Natives

• Wendell R. Beitzel, member of Maryland House of Delegates

References

External links

• Maryland Municipal League: Accident
• Photographs of Accident, Western Maryland History Online, Whilbr
• Ruth Enlow Library

• Accident, Maryland is at coordinates 39°37′41″N 79°19′12″W / 39.628074, -79.319996 (Accident, Maryland)Coordinates: 39°37′41″N 79°19′12″W / 39.628074, -79.319996 (Accident, Maryland)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Garrett County, Maryland County seat: Oakland Towns Accident | Deer Park | Friendsville | Grantsville | Kitzmiller | Loch Lynn Heights | Mountain Lake Park | Oakland Communities Bittinger | Bloomington | Crellin | Gorman | Hutton | McHenry | Jennings | Sang Run | Shalmar | Swanton