Maryland Formation Maps

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History of County Formations in Maryland 1637-1997

(See below for:
County Abbreviations,
Discontinued Maryland Counties, and
Destroyed Court Houses.)

(These maps are best viewed at 1024 x 768 dpi.)

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Go to Year:
Intro • 1637 • 1642 • 1650 • 1654 • 1658 • 1662 • 1666 • 1669 • 1671 • 1672 • 1673 • 1674 • 1685 • 1695 • 1696 • 1698 • 1706 • 1707 • 1727 • 1742 • 1748 • 1750 • 1760 • 1773 • 1774 • 1776 • 1789 • 1791 • 1824 • 1837 • 1851 • 1867 • 1872 • 1880 • 1888 • 1918 • 1997 •

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Maryland County Abbreviations
(There are 24 counties.)


AA =Anne Arundel
Al =Allegeny
Ba =Baltimore
BC =Baltimore City
Cal=Calvert
Ce =Cecil

Cha=Charles
Cln=Caroline
Crl=Carroll
Do =Dorchester
Fr =Frederick
Ga =Garrett

Ha =Harford
Ho =Howard
Ke =Kent
Mo =Montgomery
PG =Prince George's
QA =Queen Anne's

SM =St. Mary's
So =Somerset
Ta =Talbot
Wa =Washington
Wi =Wicomico
Wo =Worcester

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Maryland Discontinued Counties

Charles: Formed in 1650 from part of Saint Mary's County.
Abolished in 1654.
Referred to as Old Charles County.
Durham: Formed in 1669 from part of Somerset County and non-organized territory.
Abolished in 1672 and incorporated into Worcester County.
Worcester: Formed in 1672 from part of Durham County and non-organized territory.
Lost in 1685 when Delaware Colony was established.

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Maryland Destroyed Courthouses

  • Allegany - 1893 - (fire) - Marriage Records for 1791-1847 were lost, as were Naturalization Records for 1892-1893.
  • Anne Arundel - 1704 - (fire) - All but three Court Record volumes were lost.  Deeds before 1699 were lost, but there are five volumes of re-recorded deeds.
  • Calvert - 1882 - (fire) - Most Court Records were lost, but some deeds dating back to 1840 were re-recorded.  Abstracts of Deeds sent to Annapolis, beginning in 1784, and Provincial Court Deeds/Land Office Records, also make up for some up for some of the destroyed records.
  • Carroll - Most early papers of the County Court have been lost.
  • Cecil - Many early Court Records have disappeared.
  • Dorchester - 1852 - (fire) - Some Court Records were lost; there are many gaps in all types of records because of the fire and because of other reasons.
  • Frederick - (fire) - There have been two major fires, but no major loss of records.
  • Harford - 1858 - (fire) - Some records were destroyed.
  • Howard - The county was formed in 1838 as Howard District of Anne Arundel Co., but did not gain full county status until 1850.
  • Kent - 1720 (fire) - Some records were destroyed.
  • Montgomery - A southern section of the county was set off in 1788 to form the District of Columbus.
  • Saint Mary's - 1831 (fire) - The Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1831.  Some deeds were re-recorded back to 1781, and abstracts of deeds sent to Annapolis, beginning in 1784, also make up for some of the records that were destroyed.
  • Somerset - 1831 - (fire) - The Courthouse burned to the ground, but all records were saved.
  • Talbot - Many records have been lost due to unknown causes.
  • Washington - 1871 - (fire) - Some records were lost.

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The Maryland Flag

The Maryland flag contains the family crest of the Calvert and Crossland families.  Maryland was founded as an English Colony in 1634 by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore.  The black and Gold designs belong to the Calvert family.  The red and white design belongs to the Crossland family.

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