List of counties in Maryland
This is a list of the twenty-three 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 the majority 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 Maryland in 1997.[3]
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.
Alphabetical listing
Defunct counties
| County | Years of existence | Etymology |
|---|---|---|
| Old Charles County | 1650-1654 | Charles I, King of England |
| Durham County | 1669-1672 | The traditional English county of 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 |
See also
References
- ^ Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634–1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 080183399X
- ^ a b c d e "Counties". Maryland Manual Online. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ Brown, Deneen (June 28, 1997). "As Unification NEars, Takoma Park Residents Still a Divided People". The Washington Post. pp. A1. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b "Maryland QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
