Today’s Maryland counties did not always exist in their present form. The borders that define the 24 jurisdictions were formed over the course of three centuries. St. Mary’s County was the first to be organized, and Garrett County was the last.

Below are Maryland’s counties listed in order of formation. Click on the Conduit Street Fun Fact to discover something new about each place!

• 1637 St. Mary’s County
  • Fun Fact: Which Famous Actor Had His First Paid Role in St. Mary’s County?
    
    
• 1642 Kent County
  • Fun Fact: Which County Hosts a Spooky Singing Ghost?
    
    
• 1650 Anne Arundel County
  • Fun Fact: One of the Most Beautiful Doorways in America Resides in This Maryland County
    
    
• 1654 Calvert County
  • Fun Fact: Which County has the Newest Barn Quilt Trail in Maryland? (And What’s a Barn Quilt Trail??)
    
    
• 1658 Charles County
  • Fun Fact: Did You Know that the Largest Ship Graveyard in the Western Hemisphere is in Charles County?
    
    
• 1659/60 Baltimore County
  • Fun Fact: Did You Know that Bengies Drive-In Theatre in Baltimore County has the Biggest Continuously Operated Movie Theatre Screen in the USA?
    
    
• 1661/62 Talbot County
  • Fun Fact: Which County is Home to a Community Built by Former Slaves Who Fought in the Civil War?
    
    
• 1666 Somerset County
  • Fun Fact: In Which Maryland County Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too?
    
    
• 1668/69 Dorchester County
  • Fun Fact: Which Maryland County Was the Home of Harriet Tubman?
    
    
• 1674 Cecil County
  • Fun Fact: Did You Know That the Inventor of the Steamboat Was a Resident of Cecil County?
    
    
• 1695 Prince George’s County
  • Fun Fact: Zebras Are on the Loose in This County!
    
    
• 1706 Queen Anne’s County
  • Fun Fact: In Which Counties Will You Find the Highest and Lowest Points in Maryland?
    
    
• 1742 Worcester County
  • Fun Fact: You Can Find a Mermaid in This Coastal County
    
    
• 1748 Frederick County
  • Fun Fact: Did You Know There Is an Antiques Capital of Maryland?
    
    
• 1773 Caroline County
  • Fun Fact: Celebrating Black Women in Maryland History
    
    
• 1773 Harford County
  • Fun Fact: What Maryland City is Known as the Decoy Capital of the World?
    
    
• 1776 Montgomery County
  • Fun Fact: Which County Is Really ‘Going Places’ With the Longest Escalator in the Country?
    
    
• 1776 Washington County
  • Fun Fact: Love is in the Air! Which MD County is Home to a NYT Bestselling Romance Novelist?
    
    
• 1789 Allegany County
  • Fun Fact: Lonaconing Is Lucky, But This County’s Residents Are Feeling Fortunate…Jackpot or Not
    
    
• 1796 Baltimore City
  • Fun Fact: Baltimore Bath House Boom
    
    
• 1837 Carroll County
  • Fun Fact: What Famous Actor Is Buried in an Unmarked Grave in Carroll County?
    
    
• 1851 Howard County
  • Fun Fact: Which County is the Home of Maryland’s First State Park?
    
    
• 1867 Wicomico County
  • Fun Fact: In Which Maryland County Was George Washington Born?
    
    
• 1872 Garrett County
  • Fun Fact: Which Maryland County Has the State’s Only Natural Lake?
    

Do you have a fun fact to share about your county? If so, please send it to Allison Valliant to be featured in MACo’s weekly Fun Fact on Conduit Street.