List of counties in Massachusetts

Counties of Massachusetts
Location	Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Number	14
Populations	10,172 (Nantucket) – 1,503,085 (Middlesex)
Areas	48 square miles (120 km2) (Nantucket) – 1,513 square miles (3,920 km2) (Worcester)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, villages, unincorporated communities, census designated place

This is a list of the 14 counties in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has abolished eight^[1] of its fourteen county governments between 1997 and 2000, leaving five counties with county-level local government (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth) and one, Nantucket County, with combined county/city government.^[2][3] Vestigial judicial and law enforcement districts still follow the old county boundaries in the counties where county-level government has been disestablished, and the counties are still generally recognized as geographic entities if not political ones, along with continuing to provide geographical demarcation for National Weather Service weather warnings.^[4] Three counties have formed new county regional compacts to serve as a form of regional governance, and these include: Hampshire, Barnstable, and Franklin Counties.

Jurisdictional areas for District Attorneys are created by state law and while some follow traditional county boundaries, names and geographic areas covered are often different.

Criminal matters in Essex County are handled by the District Attorney for the Eastern District; in Middlesex County by the District Attorney for the Northern District; in Worcester County by the District Attorney for the Middle District; in Dukes, Barnstable and Nantucket counties by the District Attorney for the Cape and Islands District and in Franklin and Hampshire counties by the District Attorney for the Northwestern District. The districts for the counties of Berkshire, Bristol, Hampden, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk are the same in geography and nomenclature as the respective counties.^[5]

Eleven other historical counties have existed in Massachusetts, most becoming defunct when their lands were absorbed into the colony of New Hampshire or the state of Maine, both of which were created out of territory originally claimed by Massachusetts colonists. The oldest counties still in Massachusetts are Essex County, Middlesex County, and Suffolk County, created in 1643 with the original Norfolk County which was absorbed by New Hampshire and bears no relation to the modern Norfolk County. When these counties were created, they were a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which would remain separate from the Plymouth Colony and that colony's counties until 1691. Hampden County, created in 1812, is the most recently created county still in Massachusetts, although Penobscot County, Maine bore that distinction until Maine broke off from Massachusetts in 1820.^[6] The majority of Massachusetts counties are named in honor of English place names, reflecting Massachusetts' colonial heritage.^[7]

The term shire town is the statutory term for the Massachusetts town having a county court and administration offices; a county can have multiple shire towns.^[8] County seat is the standard term used in general communications by the Massachusetts government.

List of current counties

County	INCITS [9]	County seat [6][10]	Established [10]	Origin [6]	Etymology [7]	Population [10]	Area [10]	Map
Barnstable County	001	Barnstable	1685	One of three original counties created in the Plymouth Colony	After its county seat of Barnstable, which is named after the English town of Barnstaple	7005215888000000000♠215,888	7002396000000000000♠396 sq mi (7003102600000000000♠1,026 km2)
Berkshire County	003	Pittsfield	1761	From part of Hampshire County. Government abolished in 2000.[4]	For the English county of Berkshire	7005131219000000000♠131,219	7002931000000000000♠931 sq mi (7003241100000000000♠2,411 km2)
Bristol County	005	Taunton	1685	One of three original counties created in the Plymouth Colony	For its original county seat of Bristol, Massachusetts, which is named for the English port city of Bristol – when the Town of Bristol joined Rhode Island, the name of the county was kept	7005548285000000000♠548,285	7002556000000000000♠556 sq mi (7003144000000000000♠1,440 km2)
Dukes County	007	Edgartown	1695	From Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands, which had been part of Dukes County, New York until Massachusetts gained it in 1691	Formerly a part of Dukes County, New York until 1691, the land at one time was literally the possession of the Duke of York	7004165350000000000♠16,535	7002104000000000000♠104 sq mi (7002269000000000000♠269 km2)
Essex County	009	Salem and Lawrence	1643	One of four original counties created in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Government abolished in 1999.[4]	For the English county of Essex	7005743159000000000♠743,159	7002498000000000000♠498 sq mi (7003129000000000000♠1,290 km2)
Franklin County	011	Greenfield	1811	From part of Hampshire County. Government abolished in 1997.[4]	For Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), early American scientist, diplomat, and politician	7004713720000000000♠71,372	7002702000000000000♠702 sq mi (7003181800000000000♠1,818 km2)
Hampden County	013	Springfield	1812	From part of Hampshire County. Government abolished in 1998.[4]	John Hampden (1595—1643), the famous 17th century English parliamentarian	7005463490000000000♠463,490	7002618000000000000♠618 sq mi (7003160100000000000♠1,601 km2)
Hampshire County	015	Northampton	1662	From unorganized territory in the western part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Government abolished 1999.[4]	For the English county of Hampshire	7005158080000000000♠158,080	7002529000000000000♠529 sq mi (7003137000000000000♠1,370 km2)
Middlesex County	017	Cambridge and Lowell	1643	One of four original counties created in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Government abolished in 1997.[4]	For the English county of Middlesex	7006150308500000000♠1,503,085	7002824000000000000♠824 sq mi (7003213400000000000♠2,134 km2)
Nantucket County	019	Nantucket	1695	From Nantucket Island which had been part of Dukes County, New York until Massachusetts gained it in 1691.	The Town of Nantucket, itself derived from a Wampanoag word meaning "place of peace"	7004101720000000000♠10,172	7001480000000000000♠48 sq mi (7002124000000000000♠124 km2)
Norfolk County	021	Dedham	1793	From part of Suffolk County.	For the English county of Norfolk	7005670850000000000♠670,850	7002400000000000000♠400 sq mi (7003103600000000000♠1,036 km2)
Plymouth County	023	Plymouth and Brockton	1685	One of three original counties created in the Plymouth Colony.	For its seat of Plymouth, which is named for the English port city of Plymouth	7005494919000000000♠494,919	7002661000000000000♠661 sq mi (7003171200000000000♠1,712 km2)
Suffolk County	025	Boston	1643	One of four original counties created in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Government abolished in 1999.[4]	For the English county of Suffolk	7005722023000000000♠722,023	7001580000000000000♠58 sq mi (7002150000000000000♠150 km2)
Worcester County	027	Worcester	1731	From parts of Hampshire County, Middlesex County and Suffolk County. Government abolished in 1998.[4]	For its county seat of Worcester, which is named in honor of the English city of Worcester and the English Civil War Battle of Worcester in 1651, a Parliamentarian victory	7005798552000000000♠798,552	7003151300000000000♠1,513 sq mi (7003391900000000000♠3,919 km2)

Former counties

See also

• Administrative divisions of Massachusetts
• List of extinct U.S. counties
• Government of Massachusetts – section on local government

References

External links

• Historical Data Relating to the Incorporation of and Abolishment of Counties in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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