Midland, Maryland

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Midland is a town in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, located along the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 473 at the 2000 census. The town of Midland is 1,600 feet (490 m) above sea level, is located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Frostburg, Maryland and 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Lonaconing, Maryland. Paradise Run and Neff's Run carry the precipitation from Dan's Mountain on the east to Georges Creek, while Squirrel Neck Run feeds it from the west off of Savage Mountain. Some say that Midland derived its name from its location, some say it was named after the Midlands in Scotland by the Scottish settlers. Midland is proud of its two churches—St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Grace United Methodist Church. Both were established in 1891. The bells of St. Joe’s and the chimes of Grace ring out daily from the hill at the edge of town where the churches sit side by side. About a mile beyond the town's limits, anyone making the climb to the top of the magnificent outcropping known as Dan's Rock is rewarded with an incomparable view of the eastern end of the county and nearby West Virginia. Generations of townsfolk and visitors have marveled at the spectacular sunrises and sunsets seen from this highest point in Allegany County. Midland was founded in 1850 as a coal-mining community in the heart of the George's Creek Valley, once a major center of the nation’s coal industry. But coal production started to decline after World War I, and today only some strip mining remains as the last vestige of this once all important industry. Coal trains that once went through the town daily now pass only once or twice a month. Most of the original settlers came in response to the abundance of jobs available in the coal mines. Many were Irish, but German, Scottish, and Welsh names also are found in the early records of the town. Once a bustling town with big stores, a hotel, and an opera house, Midland today projects a friendly laid-back atmosphere. A convenience store offers the basic necessities, but major shopping is done in the larger communities of Frostburg, LaVale, and Cumberland. The post office in the heart of town is the gathering point for the townspeople to meet and chat.