We analyzed research using Saturday Night Science from Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped Klaverns by city from 1915-1940. This report analyzes the locations of historic KKK organizations to see where they were the most prevalent in Maryland.
The city in Maryland with the most number of Klaverns was Baltimore with 3 Klaverns. The city with the most number of Klaverns per capita was Hurlock with 0.0005 Klaverns. There were historically 25 Klaverns in Maryland, across 20 places in Maryland with at least 1 Klavern during the period of reference.
Hate groups can be hard to measure because, typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. These cities have historically been the most racist in Maryland based on the number of KKK Klaverns.
This report does not speak to the current people who live there or the current state of the KKK in the same towns or areas.
1 Klaverns · #1 most historically racist in Maryland
1 Klaverns · #2 most historically racist in Maryland
1 Klaverns · #3 most historically racist in Maryland
1 Klaverns · #4 most historically racist in Maryland
1 Klaverns · #5 most historically racist in Maryland
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #6 most historically racist in Maryland
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #7 most historically racist in Maryland
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #8 most historically racist in Maryland
Located in
Frederick County, Maryland
Brunswick is a city in Frederick County, Maryland, United States at the Maryland/Virginia border. The population was 5,870 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 Klaverns · #9 most historically racist in Maryland
Located in
Prince George’s County, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 17,557 at the 2010 United States Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 Klaverns · #10 most historically racist in Maryland
Located in
Allegany County, Maryland
Cumberland Maryland, officially the City of Cumberland, is a western gateway city and seat of Allegany County, Maryland, United States and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a population of 103,299. Cumberland is a regional business and commercial center for Western and the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. Cumberland is commonly referred to as “Where The South Begins,” as official United States Census Bureau records place it below the Mason-Dixon line.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maryland’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Maryland’s historic Klaverns were
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Most Historically Racist Places In The Old Line State
While there are surveys and public polls on what places might be the most racist, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from where KKK organizations have existed.
Specifically, we analyzed research out of Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped the Klans in each area and gave a history of their recruitment from 1915-1940.
- Number of historic KKK Klaverns (1915-1940) per current resident
Using Saturday Night Science, we analyzed the locations of historic KKK organizations per capita using current population data.
The full plate
Cities With Historically High KKK Membership In Maryland
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Klaverns | Klaverns /100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hurlock | 2,056 | 1 | 49 |
| 2 | Oakland | 2,165 | 1 | 46 |
| 3 | Snow Hill | 2,720 | 1 | 37 |
| 4 | Rising Sun | 2,870 | 1 | 35 |
| 5 | Indian Head | 3,885 | 1 | 26 |
| 6 | Perryville | 4,391 | 1 | 23 |
| 7 | Capitol Heights | 4,452 | 1 | 22 |
| 8 | Brunswick | 6,006 | 1 | 17 |
| 9 | Hyattsville | 18,049 | 2 | 11 |
| 10 | Cumberland | 20,557 | 2 | 10 |
| 11 | Cambridge | 12,511 | 1 | 8 |
| 12 | Havre de Grace | 13,360 | 1 | 7 |
| 13 | Elkton | 15,673 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Westminster | 18,656 | 1 | 5 |
| 15 | Hagerstown | 40,295 | 2 | 5 |
| 16 | Annapolis | 38,599 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Odenton | 38,787 | 1 | 3 |
| 18 | Bethesda | 62,024 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | Columbia | 102,116 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Baltimore | 622,271 | 3 | 0 |
Source: VCU Mapping the Klan, 1915-1940; current population data. 20 cities with at least one Klavern.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most Historically Racist Cities In Maryland
When you’re looking at the places in Maryland with the highest number of historical KKK Klaverns per capita, this is an accurate list.
Below is a chart that lists all cities in Maryland with at least one KKK organization from 1915-1940.
The cities with the largest number of KKK Klaverns per capita were Hurlock, Oakland, Snow Hill, Rising Sun, Indian Head, Perryville, Capitol Heights, Brunswick, Hyattsville, and Cumberland. Not sold on Maryland? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Historic KKK Presence In Maryland FAQs
What is the most historically racist city in Maryland?
Hurlock had the most KKK Klaverns per capita of any Maryland city between 1915 and 1940, which puts it at the top of this historical ranking. The measure is historic Klan chapters, not anything about residents today.
Which Maryland city had the most Klaverns overall?
Baltimore had the most Klaverns in Maryland outright, with 3. Our ranking uses Klaverns per capita instead, so smaller towns with heavy Klan presence rank ahead of big cities on raw counts.
How many Klaverns did Maryland have?
Maryland had 25 documented Klaverns across 20 cities during the 1915-1940 period. Those are the cities that appear in this ranking.
Does this mean Hurlock is racist today?
No. This ranking maps where the KKK organized a century ago, and says nothing about the people who live in Hurlock now. Treat it as history, not a review of the current community.
Where does this data come from?
The numbers come from a historical archive of Klan chapters, called Klaverns, documented between 1915 and 1940. We divided each city’s Klavern count by its population to get the per-capita ranking.
