Somerset County, Maryland: Map

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Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland

, located on the state's Eastern Shore. It was named for Mary, Lady Somerset, the wife of Sir John Somerset and daughter of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour. She was the sister of Anne Calvert, Baroness Baltimore, née Anne Arundell, the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, who lent her name to Anne Arundel County

. The county seat is Princess Anne

. As of 2000, the population was 24,747. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland

, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Somerset County was created in 1666 by an Order in Council.In 1742 Worcester County

was created from Somerset County. In 1867 portions of Somerset and Worcester Counties were taken to create Wicomico County

.

The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

Law and government

Somerset County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms; all commissioners' terms will expire in 2010.

Current Somerset county commissioners:

District	Name	Party
1	James N. Ring	Democrat
2	Rex Simpkins	Democrat
3	Michael K. McCready	Democrat
4	C. Samuel Boston	Democrat
5	Paul T. Ward, Jr.	Republican

Boston is the President of the County Commission; Ring is the Vice President.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 611 square miles (1,582 km²), of which, 327 square miles (847 km²) of it is land and 284 square miles (736 km²) of it (46.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

State protected area

The State of Maryland Deal Island Wildlife Management Area, a protected area, is in the northwest quadrant of the county. It encorporates not only Deal Island but the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. It is . It has over of flat trails.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,747 people, 8,361 households, and 5,444 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 10,055 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.4% White, 41.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.4% were of American

, 15.4% English, 7.3% German and 5.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 8,361 households out of which 38.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.5 years. For every 100 females there were 114.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,903, and the median income for a family was $37,643. Males had a median income of $27,496 versus $23,035 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,965. About 15.0% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

1 City:
1. Crisfield (incorporated 1872)
1 Town:
1. Princess Anne (incorporated 1733)

Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government. Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county: