List of counties in Massachusetts
This is a list of Massachusetts counties, consisting of the 14 Massachusetts counties currently in existence. Eleven other counties have existed in Massachusetts' history, 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.[1] The majority of Massachusetts counties are named in honor of English place names, reflecting Massachusetts' colonial heritage.[2]
The term shire town is the statutory term for the Massachusetts town having a county court and administration offices. County seat is the standard term used in general communications by the Massachusetts government. Massachusetts has abolished seven of its fourteen county governments, leaving five counties with county-level local government and two, Nantucket County and Suffolk County, with combined county/city government.[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.[4]
Alphabetical list
| County |
FIPS Code[5] | County Seat [1] |
Created [3] |
History [1] |
Etymology [2] |
Population [3] |
Area [3] |
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Defunct counties
| County |
Created [1] |
Abolished [1] |
Fate [1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County | 1760 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Devonshire County | 1674 | 1675 | Abolished |
| Hancock County | 1789 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Kennebec County | 1799 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Lincoln County | 1760 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Old Norfolk County | 1643 | 1679 | Abolished - most of its territory was absorbed into New Hampshire |
| Oxford County | 1805 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Penobscot County | 1816 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Somerset County | 1809 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| Washington County | 1789 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine |
| York County | 1652 | 1820 | Transferred to Maine - there were two periods when York County was abolished, 1664 to 1668 and 1680 to 1691 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f Brown, Richard and Tager, Jack (2000). Massachusetts: A Concise History. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1558492496.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Beatty, Michael (2001). County Name Origins of the United States. McFarland Press. ISBN 0786410256.
- ^ a b c d e "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
- ^ "Historical Data Relating to the Incorporation of and Abolishment of Counties in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
- ^ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
