Maryland County Information
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County link goes to the Maryland Manual On-line, A Guide to Maryland Government
Allegany County (AL)
Formed in 1789
Erected from Washington County
County seat: Cumberland
Area in sq. mi. = 438 [ 1 ]
Anne Arundel County (AA)
Formed in 1650
Original County
County seat: Annapolis
Area in sq. mi. = 423 [ 1 ]
History: Anne Arundel, for whom the Anne Arundel County is named, was the wife of the the second Lord Baltimore, Cecil Calvert. Cecil received the propriety charter of Maryland from King Charles I (whose wife was Henrietta Maria for whom Maryland is named) in 1632. Cecil had married Anne Arundell, daughter of Sir Thomas Arundell, first Baron Arundell of Wardour, four years earlier. She married Cecil Calvert when she was 13. Nine children resulted from the marriage, four of which lived into their adult life: Anne, Mary, Elizabeth, and Charles, who became 3rd Lord Baltimore. Anne died in 1649.
Baltimore County (BA)
Formed in 1660
Erected from Anne Arundel County
County seat: Towson
Area in sq. mi. = 598 [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Baltimore City (BC)
Formed in 1851
Erected from Baltimore County
Area in sq. mi. = 75 [ 1 ] [ 3 ]
Calvert County (CV)
Formed in 1654
Original County
County seat: Prince Frederick
Area in sq. mi. = 217 [ 1 ]
Caroline County (CA)
Formed in 1773
Erected from Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties
County seat: Denton
Area in sq. mi. = 321 [ 1 ]
Carroll County (CR)
Formed in 1837
Erected from Baltimore and Frederick counties
County seat: Westminster
Area in sq. mi. = 456 [ 1 ]
Cecil County (CE)
Formed in 1674
Erected from Baltimore and Kent counties
County seat: Elkton
Area in sq. mi. = 362 [ 1 ]
Charles County (CH)
Formed in 1658
Original County
County seat: La Plata
Area in sq. mi. = 459 [ 1 ]
Dorchester County (DO)
Formed in 1669
Erected from Somerset and Talbot counties
County seat: Cambridge
Area in sq. mi. = 594 [ 1 ]
Frederick County (FR)
Formed in 1748
Erected from Baltimore and Prince George's counties
County seat: Frederick
Area in sq. mi. = 665 [ 1 ]
Garrett County (GA)
Formed in 1872
Erected from Allegany County
County seat: Oakland
Area in sq. mi. = 659 [ 1 ]
Harford County (HA)
Formed in 1773
Erected from Baltimore County
County seat: Bel Air
Area in sq. mi. = 453 [ 1 ]
Howard County (HO)
Formed in 1851
Erected from Anne Arundel County
County seat: Ellicott City
Area in sq. mi. = 251 [ 1 ]
Kent County (KE)
Formed in 1642
Original County
County seat: Chestertown
Area in sq. mi. = 281 [ 1 ]
Montgomery County (MO)
Formed in 1776
Erected from Frederick County
County seat: Rockville
Area in sq. mi. = 496 [ 1 ]
History: Montgomery County was named in honor of General Richard Montgomery, the first general to die fighting for American independence. General Montgomery died December 31, 1775. In September, 1776 Thomas Sprigg Wootton, delegate from Frederick County to the Maryland legislature introduced a bill "that after the first day of October next, such part of the said county of Frederick as is contained within the bounds and limits following, to wit: Beginning at the east side of the mouth of Rock Creek, on the Potomac river, and running thence with the said river to the mouth of Monocacy, then with a straight line to Parr's Spring, from thence with the lines of the county to the beginning, shall be, in and hereby erected into a new county called Montgomery County."
Prince George's County (PG)
Formed in 1695
Erected from Calvert and Charles counties
County seat: Upper Marlboro
Area in sq. mi. = 484 [ 1 ]
Queen Anne's County (QA)
Formed in 1706
Erected from Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot counties
County seat: Centreville
Area in sq. mi. = 375 [ 1 ]
St. Mary's County (SM)
Formed in 1637
Original County
County seat: Leonardtown
Area in sq. mi. = 373 [ 1 ]
Somerset County (SO)
Formed in 1666
Original County
County seat: Princess Anne
Area in sq. mi. = 339 [ 1 ]
Talbot County (TA)
Formed in 1662
Original County
County seat: Easton
Area in sq. mi. = 261 [ 1 ]
Washington County (WA)
Formed in 1776
Erected from Frederick County
County seat: Hagerstown
Area in sq. mi. = 459 [ 1 ]
Wicomico County (WI)
Formed in 1867
Erected from Somerset and Worcester counties
County seat: Salisbury
Area in sq. mi. = 381 [ 1 ]
Worcester County (WO)
Formed in 1742
Erected from Somerset County
County seat: Snow Hill
Area in sq. mi. = 479 [ 1 ]
Source: Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, (Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1972), p. 734.
[ 1 ] Area = land area. For additional information see: DNR's Fact Sheet No. 2
[ 2 ] Exclusive of the city of Baltimore which is administratively independent of the county.
[ 3 ] Administratively independent of Baltimore co. and has itself the status of a county
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