It was named after Jonathan Hager, a German settler. In 1785, the city of Cumberland, which is in Allegany County, was established. The County was the home for many pioneers, when they would travel through the Cumberland Narrows, a 1,000 foot high gap. This gap forms the main pass through the Allegheny Mountains to the west. In the mid-18th century, English settlers came to the county and began to mine and create towns and farms. This county was important for transportation for many travelers heading west. They would pass through by many forms of transportation, including canal, train, and horse and buggy. The westernmost county in the state, Garrett County, was the last part of Maryland to be settled in 1764. The county was founded in 1872 by John Work Garrett, the B&O Railroad president. Appalachian development The Appalachian Regional Development Act was created and passed in 1965 in an effort to correct the poverty issue, and the growing economic problems in the Appalachian region (13 States). According to the State of Maryland Appalachian Development Plan, the Act was passed because: (1) One in every three Appalachians lived in poverty; (2) Per capita income was 23% less than the US average; and (3) High unemployment and harsh living conditions had, in the 1950s, forced more than 2 million Appalachian people to leave their homes and seek work in other regions. For the state of Maryland, this act was intended to bring awareness to the poverty levels of the Western Maryland counties. The program that was developed for this act was called the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The main goal of the ARC was to improve the development of the economy, and bring this region into socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation. County population According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the three westernmost counties of Maryland have a population of 252,614, accounting for 4.4% of the population of Maryland. The most populated county is Washington County, which is home to approximately 147,430 people. Allegany County is the next most populated county with 75,087 people, while Garrett County is the least populated with 30,097 people. Major communities The following are some of the major cities in Western Maryland by county, in descending order of population, along with the city population of the 2020 census. Washington County: Hagerstown (43,527) Boonsboro (3,336) Smithsburg (2,975) Williamsport (2,137) Hancock (1,546) Allegany County: Cumberland (20,859)