Cockeysville

History

The low-lying valleys in and around Cockeysville are underlain by a soft, crystalline metamorphic rock called Cockeysville Marble. This rock, which was once limestone at the bottom of an ancient sea, erodes much faster than the surrounding harder schist. This process created fertile, rolling valleys with rich, lime-sweetened soils. These valleys supported mature hardwood forests. Dominant tree species would have included tulip poplar, American chestnut, various oaks (white, red, black), hickories, black walnut, and American elm. The understory would have had flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants like pawpaw, spicebush, mayapple, Virginia bluebells, and various ferns. Large mammals such as white-tailed deer, elk, and black bears were abundant. The area was also home to predators like mountain lions and bobcats. Smaller mammals included beavers, river otters, gray foxes, and woodland bison. There were wild turkeys, passenger pigeons, barred owls, and numerous songbirds. In contrast to the fertile valleys are the nearby serpentine barrens, such as Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area. These ecosystems are formed on serpentinite, a greenish metamorphic rock low in essential plant nutrients like calcium and high in heavy metals like magnesium, nickel, and chromium, which are toxic to most plants. These areas included prairie grasses like little bluestem, pitch pine, scrub and post oaks, and eastern redcedar. Grasslands attracted grazing animals like elk and white-tailed deer. The habitat also supported specialized insects, including unique moths and butterflies. Birds of the open country, such as bobwhite quail and field sparrows, would have been common. The dominant Native American group in this part of Maryland was the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannock tribe.…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Parkville High
  High · Baltimore · 2,200 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Dulaney High
  High · Timonium · 1,821 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Towson High
  High · Towson · 1,676 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• Hereford High
  High · Parkton · 1,225 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Owings Mills High
  High · Owings Mills · 1,199 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Dumbarton Middle
  Middle · Baltimore · 1,073 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Ridgely Middle
  Middle · Lutherville · 1,061 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Parkville Middle
  Middle · Baltimore · 999 students · 15.1:1 ratio