Sykesville
by the Numbers
Federal Census data, combined with our archive of maps and documents reveal much about the way people lived and worked in the Town of Sykesville. After 1904, this data represents only the incorporated Town resident data--before the Town's date of incorporation we have used data for the entirety of Freedom District. Springfield Hospital Center (which, until recently, lay outside of the Town limits) is usually enumerated separately, but sometimes appears on either the Freedom District Census when it is not separately counted.
At the bottom of this page, you will find links to the Ancestry.com sources for this data. These pages can be accessed for free with a Carroll County library card. If you live in the Freedom District, but not within the incorporated limits of Sykesville, in most cases, you will need to look at different files in order to find your history. Contact us through the methods at the bottom of the page if you need help finding these files.
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The Growth of Sykesville
Prior to 1770
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Evidence of Native America presence in the Sykesville area
The War of 1812
1812-1815
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Maryland's "Old Defenders" --those who were a part of the war of 1812, included future Town namesake, James Sykes. While no musters or action took place nearby, .......
1750????
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The earliest white settlers of the Sykesville Area...
The American Revolution
1776-1783
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The Sykesville Area played no major part in the American Revolution. While no battles took place here, colonists were recruited to Frederick County for a muster of troops on July 18, 1775, becoming the 7th Maryland Regiment.
1830
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James Sykes arrived in Sykesville sometime before...
1837
Carroll County is formed from Frederick and Baltimore County; Jan. 19, 1837.
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1850
Prior to the Civil War, relatively large-scale farming concentrated Black populations in southern Carroll County.
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The American Civil War
1861-1865
Sykesville area residents fought on both sides of the American Civil War
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1868
On July 4, 1868, the Patapsco River massively flooded.
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1860
Between 1850 and 1860.....change....
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1870
Census info...
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1880
Census info...
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1890
Census info...
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1900
Census info...
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1892-1896
Sykesville native, Frank Brown served as Governor of the State of Maryland.
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1904
Incorporation of the Town of Sykesville
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1910
Census info...
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World War I
1914-1918
The Town of Sykesville in World War I initially did not support US entry to the war, but ended up substantially promoting the war effort.
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1896
Springfield Hospital opens as "Maryland's Second Hospital for the Insane." Over the coming decades, as patient populations rose, it became the area's largest employer.
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1920
Census info...
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The Great Depression
Census info for 1930 AND Great Depression info
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1940
Census info...
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World War II
1941-1945
Sykesville's efforts at war and in civil defense...
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1950
Census info...
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1956???
Sykesville High School Fire
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1972
In June of 1972, the remnants of Hurricane Agnes...
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2004
Sykesville's Centennial Celebration
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Finding The Facts
To apply for a Carroll County library card (and therefore receive free access to Ancestry.com) start here: https://catalog.carr.org/patronaccount/selfregister.aspx?ctx=17.1033.0.0.5
Freedom District Records (prior to the formation of the Town of Sykesville, 1904)
1860:
1870:
1880:
(The 1890 Census burned in 1921 and is unavailable)
1900:
Town of Sykesville Records
1910:
1920:
1930:
1940:
1950:
The 1960 census will become available in 2032.