The Churchville Test Area is a United States Army facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, located northeast of Bel Air, Maryland (in Harford County, Maryland, U.S.).
The Churchville Test Area ( 39°35′46″N76°15′11″W / 39.596°N 76.253°W Coordinates: 39°35′46″N76°15′11″W / 39.596°N 76.253°W ) is a hilly set of cross-country road test tracks providing a variety of steep natural grades and tight turns designed to stress engines, drivetrains and suspension systems for Army vehicles, such as the M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley fighting vehicle and the Humvee.
The Test Area consists of 11 miles (18 km) of interconnected roads and test courses located on 250 acres (1.0 km2), with both 3-and-4-mile (4.8 and 6.4 km) closed loop courses, mud, dust and gravel surfaces, and grades ranging from 7% to 29%.
On March 21, 2007, the Army celebrated the designation of a 163.5-acre (0.662 km2) buffer-zone alongside the Churchville Test Area, in conjunction with the Harford County Government, the Harford Land Trust, and the Hopkins family. Part of the US Army's Compatible Use Buffer program, under the Pentagon's environmental protection initiative, this land-use purchase was $1.4M (US). [1]
Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area.
Carney is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 29,941 at the 2010 census.
Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Baltimore. The population was 14,959 at the 2010 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County.
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. Part of the facility is a census-designated place (CDP), which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census, and 2,093 as of the 2010 census. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at APG.
Bel Air South is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 47,709 at the 2010 census, up from 39,711 in 2000.
Perryman is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,342 at the 2010 census.
Darlington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 409 at the 2010 census. The center of the community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Darlington Historic District in 1987. Median household income is $66,563. The percentage of people in poverty is 5.3%.
Churchville is an unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland, United States, situated between the county seat, Bel Air, and Aberdeen, where the Aberdeen Proving Ground is located.
Ford Motor Company operates several proving grounds worldwide, for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
Heritage High School was a public high school located in the northeast area known as Clifton Park of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It served Baltimore City high schoolers from 2004 to 2015.
Maryland Route 22 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 12.91 miles (20.78 km) from U.S. Route 1 Business and MD 924 in Bel Air east to an entrance to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen. MD 22 is the main connection between the county seat of Bel Air and Aberdeen, which is the largest city in Harford County. The state highway also provides the primary route between Interstate 95 (I-95) and Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Patterson Mill Middle and High School opened in August 2007 in Harford County, Maryland, US. Built for $50 million, the 226,000 sq ft (21,000 m2) building is a state of the art school that includes a television studio, a mass communications lab for a radio station, and a graphics and visual communications area.
The Aberdeen Police Department (APD) is the primary police agency servicing a population of 14,130 within 6.4 square miles (17 km2) of the municipality of Aberdeen, Maryland.
Stellantis North America, more commonly known as Chrysler, operates proving grounds around North America for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
Maryland Route 136 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 30.04 miles (48.34 km) from MD 7 near Abingdon north to MD 23 in Norrisville. MD 136 is an L-shaped route that connects the communities of Creswell, Churchville, Dublin, and Whiteford in eastern Harford County with each other and with Norrisville in the county's northwestern corner. The state highway is connected to the cities of Aberdeen and Havre de Grace via its connection with MD 22. MD 136 is also linked to the county seat of Bel Air from the east through MD 22, from the northeast by U.S. Route 1, from the north via MD 24, and from the northwest by MD 23. The state highway starts on the coastal plain near the Chesapeake Bay and crosses Harford County's two main tributaries of the Susquehanna River, Deer Creek and Broad Creek, while traversing a wide swath of the Piedmont. MD 136 is the second longest Maryland state highway entirely within one county after MD 235.
Maryland Route 132 is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These four highways are sections of old alignment of and connecting roads with MD 22 in Aberdeen. MD 132 connects Aberdeen neighborhoods east and west of U.S. Route 40 with MD 22 and Interstate 95 (I-95). MD 132B serves the area east of US 40 and north of MD 22 between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace. MD 132A and MD 132C are connectors between MD 132 and MD 22. The highways that are now part of MD 132 were originally built in the early 1910s and marked as part of MD 22 and US 40 in 1927. MD 22 was extended east and north along the US 40 portion when the U.S. highway was relocated in the 1930s. MD 132 was assigned to the highway when MD 22 was relocated in the late 1960s. MD 132 became a split route following the construction of a railroad grade separation in the 1980s.
Stoney Demonstration Forest is a state forest located in Aberdeen, Maryland, United States.
Dublin is an unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Dublin was founded in the early 19th century by George McCausland and a friend who migrated from Dublin, Ireland.
Winters Run is a 14.6-mile-long (23.5 km) river in Harford County, Maryland. The river begins north of the community of Fallston at the confluence of the West and East Branches, and flows southeast about 11 miles (18 km) to Atkisson Dam in Edgewood. The dam and reservoir were built by the U.S. Army in 1942 to provide an auxiliary fresh water source for nearby Edgewood Arsenal. Upon reaching the tidal line, the river is renamed Otter Point Creek, which empties to Bush River and the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed area of Winters Run is about 56 square miles (150 km2).
Bush River is a tidal estuary in Harford County, Maryland, located about 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Baltimore. The estuary extends from the community of Riverside, south for about 9 mi (14 km), to the Chesapeake Bay. The watershed area of tidal Bush River is 125 mi2 (320 km2), and includes Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military facility.
