Arcadia, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Arcadia is located in Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.


The population as of the 2000 census for zip code 21155, part of which is Arcadia, was 2349 (according to www.zipskinny.com). Elevation: 23 feet.

Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher Otis Stocksdale
Otis Stocksdale
Otis Hinkley Stocksdale was an American professional baseball player who played four season for the Washington Senators, Boston Beaneaters and Baltimore Orioles....

 was born in Arcadia on August 7, 1871. He played 6 years for Washington and 2 years for Boston.

The town of Arcadia has many attractions and events. Three such events are (1) the Annual Arcadia Bluegrass Festival, (2) the Arcadia Championship Demolition Derbies, and (3) the annual show held by the Maryland Steam Historical Society, Inc. (www.MarylandSteam.org) which features steam engines, antique car
Antique car
In the United States, an antique car is generally defined as a car over 45 years of age, this being the definition used by the Antique Automobile Club of America. However, the legal definition for the purpose of antique vehicle registration varies widely. The antique car era includes the veteran...

s, tractor pulls, country music and a flea market, among other attractions. This show draws a crowd from all over the country.

Arcadia, MD, became well known when it was chosen as the model for the fictional hometown, also called Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...

, on the 2003 - 2005 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 television series Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...

.

The fictional Arcadia was apparently a medium-sized town in an otherwise fairly rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 area; it was large enough to have a city bus service but was adjacent to mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

s and forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s and apparently had only the one high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 where Joan and her younger brother attended and her mother taught art. Her father was the police chief
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

 until his investigation of the political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 corruption of the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 and other officials found violations so serious that the city's municipal charter was revoked and it became an unincorporated
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...

 area in its county, at which point Joan's father became a deputy sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

.

Despite its medium size and the apparently suburban nature of where Joan resides, several episodes have scenes in decidedly urban downtown or disadvantaged areas. In fact, some of the series was filmed in and around Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

, which has several "disadvantaged" sections.

The real life Arcadia, Md is in fact a small rural town in upper Baltimore County Md. The post office is in fact labeled not Arcadia, but Upperco. Unlike the town Joan lived in, there is no police department, no Mayor or any other town governance. There is one church (Lutheran), Arcadia Volunteer Fire Company (www.arcadiavfc.org), the carnival grounds and a railroad track runs through it. In recent decades there was a small independent convenience store and a Chrysler dealership neither of which exist today. It is adjacent to Md route 30 between the much larger towns of Reisterstown and Hampstead. There are three house lined roads that meander through it, Arcadia Avenue, Dover Rd and Trenton Rd.

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