List of counties in Maryland
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There are 23 counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Maryland. 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.<ref>Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland: A Middle Temperament, 1634–1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. Template:ISBN.</ref>
Though formally an independent city rather than a county, the City of Baltimore is considered the equal of a county for most purposes and is functionally a county-equivalent in most respects.
HistoryEdit
The most recent county formation in Maryland occurred in 1872 when Garrett County was split from Allegany County.<ref name="Manual">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, there have been numerous changes to county borders 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Within Maryland 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In fact, there are no incorporated municipalities at all in Baltimore County or Howard County.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The county-equivalent is also the provider of public schools as school districts do not exist as a separate level of government in Maryland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The City of Baltimore is an entity nearly surrounded by but separate from the County of Baltimore. The City has been considered on par with the counties within the state since it became an independent city after it separated from Baltimore County in 1851.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Maryland's code is 24, which when combined with any county code would be written as 24XXX.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.
List of countiesEdit
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See alsoEdit
- List of municipalities in Maryland
- List of census-designated places in Maryland
- Maryland statistical areas
- List of ghost towns in Maryland
Further readingEdit
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