List of counties in Maryland

There are twenty-four counties and county-equivalents in the U.S. state of Maryland. Though an independent city rather than a county, the City of Baltimore is considered the equal of a county for most purposes and is a county-equivalent. Many of the counties in Maryland were named for relatives of the Barons Baltimore who were the proprietors of the Maryland colony from its founding in 1634 through 1771. The Barons Baltimore were Catholic, and George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, originally intended that the colony be a haven for English Catholics, though for most of its history Maryland has had a majority of Protestants.[1]

The last new county formation in Maryland occurred when Garrett County was formed in 1872 from portions of Allegany County.[2] However, there have been numerous border changes since that time, most recently when portions of the city of Takoma Park that had previously been part of Prince George's County were absorbed into Montgomery County in 1997.[3]

Outside of Baltimore (which is an independent city) the county is the default unit of local government. Under Maryland law, counties exercise powers reserved in most other states at the municipal or state levels, so there is little incentive for a community to incorporate. Many of the state's most populous and economically important communities, such as Bethesda, Silver Spring, Columbia and Towson are unincorporated and receive their municipal services from the county. In fact, there are no incorporated municipalities at all in Howard County. The county-equivalent is also the provider of public schools - School districts as a separate level of government do not exist in Maryland.

The City of Baltimore generally possesses the same powers and responsibilities as the counties within the state. It is an entity nearly surrounded by but separate from the County of Baltimore, which has its county seat in Towson.

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.[4] Maryland's code is 24, which when combined with any county code would be written as 24XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

Contents

Alphabetical listing

County
 FIPS code
[5]		 County seat
[2][6]		 Established
[2][6]		 Origin
[2]		 Etymology
[2]		 Population
[7]		 Area
[6][8]		 Map
Allegany County 001 Cumberland 1789 Formed from part of Washington County. From the Lenape Indian word oolikhanna, which means "beautiful stream" &1000000000007508700000075,087 &10000000000000430000000430 sq mi
(&100000000000011140000001,114 km2)
Anne Arundel County 003 Annapolis 1650 Formed from part of St. Mary's County. Anne Arundell was the maiden name of the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Between 1654 and 1658 it was known as Providence County by Puritan settlers &10000000000537656000000537,656 &10000000000000588000000588 sq mi
(&100000000000015230000001,523 km2)
Baltimore County 005 Towson 1659 Formed from unorganized territory Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, first proprietor of the Maryland colony &10000000000805029000000805,029 &10000000000000682000000682 sq mi
(&100000000000017660000001,766 km2)
Baltimore City 510 Baltimore City 1851 Founded in 1729. Detached in 1851 from Baltimore County Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, first proprietor of the Maryland colony &10000000000620961000000620,961 &1000000000000009200000092 sq mi
(&10000000000000238000000238 km2)
Calvert County 009 Prince Frederick 1654 Formed as Patuxent County from unorganized territory. Renamed Calvert County in 1658 The Calvert family; prior to 1658 it was called Patuxent County, after the Patuxent Indians, a branch of the Algonquians &1000000000008873700000088,737 &10000000000000345000000345 sq mi
(&10000000000000894000000894 km2)
Caroline County 011 Denton 1773 From parts of Dorchester County and Queen Anne's County Lady Caroline Eden, daughter of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore &1000000000003306600000033,066 &10000000000000326000000326 sq mi
(&10000000000000844000000844 km2)
Carroll County 013 Westminster 1837 From parts of Baltimore County and Frederick County Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a representative to the Continental Congress and signatory of the Declaration of Independence &10000000000167134000000167,134 &10000000000000452000000452 sq mi
(&100000000000011710000001,171 km2)
Cecil County 015 Elkton 1672 From parts of Baltimore County and Kent County Cecil is an Anglicized form of the first name of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore &10000000000101108000000101,108 &10000000000000418000000418 sq mi
(&100000000000010830000001,083 km2)
Charles County 017 La Plata 1658 From unorganized territory Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, second proprietor of the Maryland colony &10000000000146551000000146,551 &10000000000000643000000643 sq mi
(&100000000000016650000001,665 km2)
Dorchester County 019 Cambridge 1668 From unorganized territory Dorchester in Dorset, England; the Earl of Dorset was a friend of the Calvert family &1000000000003261800000032,618 &10000000000000983000000983 sq mi
(&100000000000025460000002,546 km2)
Frederick County 021 Frederick 1748 From part of Prince George's County Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, final proprietor of the Maryland colony &10000000000233385000000233,385 &10000000000000667000000667 sq mi
(&100000000000017280000001,728 km2)
Garrett County 023 Oakland 1872 From part of Allegany County John Work Garrett, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad &1000000000003009700000030,097 &10000000000000656000000656 sq mi
(&100000000000016990000001,699 km2)
Harford County 025 Bel Air 1773 From part of Baltimore County Henry Harford, illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore &10000000000244826000000244,826 &10000000000000527000000527 sq mi
(&100000000000013650000001,365 km2)
Howard County 027 Ellicott City 1851 From parts of Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County John Eager Howard, an American Revolutionary War officer and governor of Maryland &10000000000287085000000287,085 &10000000000000254000000254 sq mi
(&10000000000000658000000658 km2)
Kent County 029 Chestertown 1642 From unorganized territory The English county of Kent &1000000000002019700000020,197 &10000000000000414000000414 sq mi
(&100000000000010720000001,072 km2)
Montgomery County 031 Rockville 1776 From part of Frederick County Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general &10000000000971777000000971,777 &10000000000000507000000507 sq mi
(&100000000000013130000001,313 km2)
Prince George's County 033 Upper Marlboro 1696 From parts of Calvert County and Charles County Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne of Great Britain &10000000000863420000000863,420 &10000000000000498000000498 sq mi
(&100000000000012900000001,290 km2)
Queen Anne's County 035 Centreville 1706 From parts of Talbot County Anne, Queen of Great Britain &1000000000004779800000047,798 &10000000000000510000000510 sq mi
(&100000000000013210000001,321 km2)
St. Mary's County 037 Leonardtown 1637 From unorganized territory. Was named Potomac County between 1654 and 1658. The Virgin Mary, first county named in a colony intended to be a haven for Catholics &10000000000105151000000105,151 &10000000000000611000000611 sq mi
(&100000000000015820000001,582 km2)
Somerset County 039 Princess Anne 1666 From unorganized territory. Mary, Lady Somerset, sister-in-law of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore &1000000000002647000000026,470 &10000000000000611000000611 sq mi
(&100000000000015820000001,582 km2)
Talbot County 041 Easton 1662 From part of Kent County Grace, Lady Talbot, sister of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore &1000000000003778200000037,782 &10000000000000477000000477 sq mi
(&100000000000012350000001,235 km2)
Washington County 043 Hagerstown 1776 From part of Frederick County George Washington, first President of the United States &10000000000147430000000147,430 &10000000000000468000000468 sq mi
(&100000000000012120000001,212 km2)
Wicomico County 045 Salisbury 1867 From parts of Somerset County and Worcester County The Wicomico River; in Lenape, wicko mekee indicated "a place where houses are built," possibly in reference to a settlement &1000000000009873300000098,733 &10000000000000400000000400 sq mi
(&100000000000010360000001,036 km2)
Worcester County 047 Snow Hill 1742 From part of Somerset County Mary Arundell, the wife of Sir John Somerset, son of the 1st Marquess of Worcester, and sister of Anne Arundell, the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore &1000000000005145400000051,454 &10000000000000695000000695 sq mi
(&100000000000018000000001,800 km2)

Map

Defunct counties

County Years of existence Etymology
Old Charles County 1650–1654 Charles I, King of England
Durham County 1669–1672 The English County Durham
Old Worcester County 1672–1685 Mary Arundell, the wife of Sir John Somerset, son of the 1st Marquess of Worcester,
and sister of Anne Arundell, wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore

References

  1. ^ Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634–1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 080183399X
  2. ^ a b c d e "Counties". Maryland Manual Online. http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/county.html. Retrieved 2007-06-24. 
  3. ^ Brown, Deneen (June 28, 1997). "As Unification Nears, Takoma Park Residents Still a Divided People". The Washington Post: pp. A1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/sept99/takoma062897.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-24. 
  4. ^ "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip6-4.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-11. 
  5. ^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/codes/md.html. Retrieved 2008-02-23. 
  6. ^ a b c National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/state.cfm&state.cfm&statecode=MD. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  7. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
  8. ^ "Maryland QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/maryland_map.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 
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