In 1918, Cumberland was entering its golden age. The world might be involved in “The War to End All Wars,” but the Cumberland Evening Times took a look at the city and saw good things happening and better things to come.
It led the newspaper to make a very bold prediction that the city could reach a population of 50,000 residents by 1920. The problem with that prediction was that the city’s population in 1918 was around 27,000; 30,000 if you counted the residents in the city suburbs. Allegany County’s entire population was 68,000 at the time. To reach 50,000 residents would require unprecedented growth.
So, while it might have been a bold prediction, the newspaper staff believed it was possible, in large part, because Cumberland was a “gateway of the continuous stream of commerce which flows forward and backward between the East and the West.”
The city was serviced by six railroads (the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; Western Maryland Railway; Pennsylvania, George’s Creek and Cumberland Railroad; Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad; and Westernport Electric Railway), the National Pike, and C&O Canal. Two of the three trunk lines for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ended in the city.
“Such a concentration of traffic is not found anywhere else in the country,” the newspaper reported.
The city was the trading center for over 100,000 people in the region.
The three largest areas of commerce for Cumberland were railroads, coals and fruit production.
“In the last few years Cumberland has also become of the largest fruit shipping centers in the country, and bids fair to assume the lead in this activity in the not distant future,” according to the newspaper.
The city’s manufacturing base was also comparable with larger cities. At the time, Cumberland had manufacturers such as Footer’s (the largest company in the U.S. of its kind), N&G Taylor Tin Plate Mill, United States Rail Company, Potomac Wellington Eastern Glass, Cumberland Gas Light Co., Edison Electric Illuminating Co., McKaig Foundry and Machine Works, Klots Throwing Company, Cumberland Steel and Shafting Works, United States Tannery, Cumberland Sash and Door Company, R. D. Johnson Company and Cumberland Milling.
However, it was the new Kelly-Springfield Plant that was considered the gem of the Golden Age Cumberland. The city donated 81 acres to the company as well as $750,000 towards the construction. The city also helped with infrastructure and other improvements.
The company was expected to employ 4,000 new workers, which would increase the city’s population by 20,000 people when the company started manufacturing tires in 1921.
“A city of 50,000 in 1920 is the goal for Cumberland!” the newspaper proclaimed.
Although Cumberland would stay prosperous for another couple decades, it has never reached that 50,000 population. The highest recorded population was 39,483 people in the 1940 U.S. Census. Since then, both the city and county have seen declining populations as many of the city’s mainstay industries closed or reduced their size. The Kelly-Springfield company closed the Cumberland plant in 1987.
Today, Cumberland’s population is roughly 18,500, and the population of Allegany County is around 67,000.