Somerset County, Maryland

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Somerset County
Somerset County Courthouse, Princess Anne.jpg
Somerset County Courthouse
Motto: 
"Semper Eadem" (English: "Ever the Same")
Map of Maryland highlighting Somerset County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland in United States.svg
Maryland's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°05′N75°52′W / 38.08°N 75.86°W / 38.08; -75.86
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Maryland.svg  Maryland
FoundedAugust 22, 1666
Named for Mary, Lady Somerset
Seat Princess Anne
Largest townPrincess Anne
Area
  Total
610.35 sq mi (1,580.8 km2)
  Land319.75 sq mi (828.1 km2)
  Water290.60 sq mi (752.7 km2)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
24,620
  Density40/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 1st
Website www.somersetmd.us

Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,620, [1] making it the second-least populous county in Maryland. The county seat is Princess Anne. [2] The county is part of the Lower Eastern Shore region of the state.

Contents

The county was named for Mary, Lady Somerset, the wife of Sir John Somerset and daughter of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour (c. 1560–1639). She was also the sister of Anne Calvert, Baroness Baltimore (1615–1649), who later lent her name to Anne Arundel County, which was erected in 1650 as the Province of Maryland's third county.

Somerset County is located on the state's Eastern Shore. It is included in the Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is located in Princess Anne.

History

Initial settlements

Somerset County was settled and established by English colonists in part due to a response to the Province/Dominion of Virginia passing a law in 1659/1660 requiring Quakers in the colony to convert to Anglicanism or leave the colony. A group of Virginia Quakers living in Accomack County, Virginia, on the southern tip of what later became known as the Delmarva Peninsula, petitioned Charles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore in 1661 to migrate to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the territory under his governance. The governor considered this an opportunity to fortify the borders of his territory on the Delmarva Peninsula against the pressing encroachment of the Virginians. [3]

The Royal Charter that Lord Baltimore had received from King Charles I in 1632 had granted Maryland the land north of the entire length of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel. Later surveys authorized by Baltimore on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay indicated that the southern boundary would continue across the peninsula at the mouth of the Pocomoke River. It was marked on the north shore by a rock outcropping labelled as "Watkins' Point". The Virginian Quakers settled just north of that point, on the southern bank of the Annemessex River in November 1662, A separate group of Anglican Virginian settlers were granted permission to make another settlement, further north along the Manokin River. [4]

In conjunction with the two new settlements, Lord Baltimore set up a three-man commission for the Eastern Shore territory, made up of two Marylanders and one Virginian. Its purpose was ostensibly to oversee the territory, found new settlements, and maintain a detailed recording of all land and civic transactions in the area. Lord Baltimore intended to use the commission to reinforce Maryland's claim to the area and to monitor any encroachments by Virginians. [5]

Invasion from Virginia

In 1663, activists from Virginia persuaded the Virginia Assembly to declare that the Virginia-Maryland border was 30 miles (48 km) north of the Pocomoke Sound, at the mouth of the Wicomico River. The Assembly tried to secure the allegiance to Virginia of all settlers south of the Wicomico River  including the Annemessex and Manokin settlements. [6] In early October 1663, a militia from Accomac County, Virginia led by a Colonel Edmund Scarborough arrived at the Annemessex settlement. They attempted to secure oaths of allegiance under threat of arrest and property confiscation. Scarborough was also on a personal mission to arrest Stephen Horsey (born on Isle of Wight, England and immigrated to Northampton, Virginia, 1643), the leader of the anti-tax movement and a vocal critic of the colonial government. He along with fellow Northampton County residents William Coulborne, Randall Revell, and Ambrose Dixon signed the Tricesimo die Marty 1651.

Scarborough and his force of 40 mounted men reached Horsey's new residence on October 11, 1663, and presented the Commands of the Assembly of Virginia against him. Horsey was "arrested" by Scarborough, but Horsey refused to accompany the party back to Virginia, declaring that he was going to remain in Maryland and maintain allegiance to the King and Lord Baltimore. The settlers expelled Scarborough and his force from the settlement. [7] The company moved on to the Manokin Settlement, where they were received much more favorably. [8] Although the Anglican settlers there were willing to swear allegiance to the Virginia colonial government, they were not willing to take any action against Lord Baltimore's government. Scarborough returned to Virginia without success in taking over southern Somerset County for Virginia. [9]

Early county leaders

The new settlers established a government for Somerset County, the eighth in the Province of Maryland; it was formed from the southern part of Kent County. This had been organized in 1642 as the Province's second county, encompassing the entire Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. Horsey was selected to sit on the first county court, which administered the new county. Charles Calvert appointed Stephen Horsey on December 11, 1665, along with Captain William Thorne, William Stevens, George Johnson, John Winder, James Jones and Henry Boston. [10] Horsey sat as a regular member of the Somerset County Court through the winter and spring of 1666. He traveled across the Chesapeake Bay in 1665 with Captain Thorne to meet with Charles Calvert, who swore them in as county commissioners. Horsey established himself as a nonconformist and someone willing to stand up for his beliefs. [11]

Map of The Hundreds of Somerset County, Maryland as of 1669. Note the boundaries overlap with Sussex, Delaware and Accomac counties, Virginia. Somerset County, MD 1669.jpg
Map of The Hundreds of Somerset County, Maryland as of 1669. Note the boundaries overlap with Sussex, Delaware and Accomac counties, Virginia.

Boundary disputes with Delaware

County boundary disputes continued, including of the northern boundary. Baltimore believed his Eastern Shore territory extended to the top of the peninsula, where the Delaware River meets the Bay. In the 1680s, William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, claimed this territory as his own, based on a conflicting deed. Penn, Baltimore, and their heirs began a protracted legal battle to determine the boundaries. Their compromise was to split the Delmarva Peninsula; however, they disagreed as to whether the boundary line should be drawn at the location of Cape Henlopen or at Fenwick Island. There were few settlers in the frontier on either side to take issue. That boundary would finally be settled in 1763 when surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon incorporated the Transpeninsular Line (Mason–Dixon line) as the definitive boundary between Delaware and Maryland.

Settlement growth

The territory continued to attract new settlers, primarily from Virginia, and by 1666, the territory had met the requirements to become established as a county in the province with its own local government. On August 22, 1666, Lord Baltimore issued a proclamation establishing the new county, including the establishment of a complete civil and military organization. The proclamation established a sheriff and a military commander for the county, and five surveyors charged with laying out a highway to serve the county. In January 1667, the county administration laid out the five initial districts, designated as "Hundreds", into which the county would be divided. Additional hundreds were added as additional knowledge of the area was surveyed. [12]

Religious communities

Settlement of the county generally proceeded from the Chesapeake Bay eastward, and from old Accomack County northward. The original settlers in the first two settlements were Quakers and Anglicans; and both groups continued to grow from ongoing immigration from the northern portions of the Virginia colony. In the 1670s, Scottish and Irish Presbyterians began to immigrate to the county, some from Virginia, some from the British Isles. In December 1680, a prominent member of the county and professed Anglican, William Stevens of Rehoboth settlement, sent a request to the Presbytery of Laggan in northern Ireland to consider sending a Presbyterian minister to Somerset county; and the first Presbyterian (Reformed) minister, Reverend Francis Makemie, arrived in early 1683, quickly followed by a growing list of additional Irish Presbyterian ministers and missionaries. The towns of Rehoboth and Snow Hill along the Pocomoke River in the eastern (seaside) portion of Somerset County became Presbyterian centers in the county. The work of these Presbyterian ministers and missionaries eventually led to the organization of the Presbytery in Philadelphia in 1706, the forerunner of American Presbyterianism.

In 1689, the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 in England resulted in the exile of the Roman Catholic King James II. After conquest by invasion, the Protestant Dutch rulers William of Orange-Nassau and Mary of Orange (James II's Protestant daughter) later became King William III, (1650–1702) and Queen Mary II. The "Protestant Revolution" of 1689 in Maryland overthrew the Roman Catholic government, resulting in the reversion of Lord Baltimore's proprietary charter. The Province was converted into a Royal colony (with a later government controlled by the king and his ministers). The capital was moved from the Catholic stronghold at St. Mary's City in southern Maryland to the more central, newly renamed Annapolis on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, opposite Kent Island.

In 1692, the Provincial General Assembly established the Church of England as the "established church" of the Province. This put pressure on the Quakers and Presbyterians, who were excluded from political office for a period. Their numbers in the county began a slow decline until the American Revolution. [13]

For more than a century, the county and much of the colony were developed by planters, with the labor of enslaved Africans, for tobacco as a commodity crop. For many years they prospered, but tobacco exhausted the soil. By the early 19th century, after the American Revolutionary War, some planters turned to mixed farming. The Eastern Shore remained primarily rural and steeped in slave society culture. Other parts of Maryland had an increasing proportion of free people of color, and more than half the blacks in the state were free before the Civil War.

Connection to Napoleon

After the defeat of the French Empire at the hands of the Seventh Coalition in July 1815, emperor Napoleon I sought to flee to the United States to escape imprisonment. According to local legends, Napoleon's brother, Jerome Bonaparte, had previously married Elizabeth Patterson, an American socialite from Baltimore, and through her the Bonapartes had connections to the American gentry, such as the King family in Beverly. According to the 1944 book 'Rivers of the Eastern Shore' by Hulbert Footner, Nicholas Girod, former Mayor of New Orleans, attempted to rescue Napoleon from his exile in British Saint Helena in 1821, the plan being to hide Napoleon in Beverly House in Princess Anne, Somerset County, before transporting him to Napoleon House in New Orleans once the hunt for him subsided. [14] However, Napoleon died before the plot could go ahead.

Native Americans

As the English colonies expanded, they encroached on Native American land. The coastal areas were occupied primarily by Algonquian language-speaking tribes. The population of the latter decreased, due to disease, warfare and social disruption. Some of the tribes migrated west to the Ohio River Valley or joined with neighboring tribes to the north, such as the Lenape.

Some of the descendants of the tribes of Maryland remained. They intermarried with colonists, including white indentured servants, and African and African-American enslaved workers. Children of Native American mothers were generally absorbed and grew up in their culture, even if mixed-race. The Catholic Church recorded Native American families in southern Maryland. In the late 20th century, many groups of Native American began to reorganize, noting their community continuity. Several tribes have been recognized by the state.

Subsequent counties

After the Dutch Anglo war, The Dutch loss the North & South Rivers (Hudson & Delaware). The Dutch colony (2 miles X 20 miles) along the Delaware Bay, became Durham County Maryland, With the county seat being Lewes, 1665 until 1669. In 1669 it became part of Somerset County until 1683 when it given to William Penn.

In 1742, Worcester County to the east and the ocean, was organized as the thirteenth county of Maryland by separation from Somerset County. By 1867, portions of Somerset and Worcester counties were ceded to create a 22nd jurisdiction, Wicomico County. (The state in 1872 created a 23rd and final county in the far mountainous west, named Garrett.)

The county has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places. [15]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 610 square miles (1,600 km2), of which 320 square miles (830 km2) is land and 291 square miles (750 km2) (48%) is water. [16]

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 incorporates not only Deal Island but the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. It is 13,000 acres (5,300 ha). [17] It has over 9 miles (14 km) of flat trails.

Climate

The county has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with all months significantly above freezing, seven to eight months greater than 50 °F (10 °C),) and three months greater than 22 °C (72 °F).) The hardiness zones are 7b and 8a.

Climate data for Crisfield, Maryland
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °F (°C)64
(18)
69
(21)
77
(25)
87
(31)
91
(33)
92
(33)
99
(37)
98
(37)
92
(33)
90
(32)
78
(26)
71
(22)
99
(37)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)44
(7)
47
(8)
55
(13)
65
(18)
74
(23)
82
(28)
87
(31)
85
(29)
79
(26)
69
(21)
58
(14)
49
(9)
66
(19)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)30
(−1)
31
(−1)
38
(3)
48
(9)
57
(14)
66
(19)
71
(22)
71
(22)
64
(18)
53
(12)
43
(6)
34
(1)
51
(10)
Record low °F (°C)−1
(−18)
3
(−16)
10
(−12)
27
(−3)
38
(3)
46
(8)
51
(11)
50
(10)
45
(7)
30
(−1)
22
(−6)
7
(−14)
−1
(−18)
Average precipitation inches (mm)3.25
(83)
3.00
(76)
4.29
(109)
2.81
(71)
3.12
(79)
2.83
(72)
4.14
(105)
4.15
(105)
2.76
(70)
2.78
(71)
2.80
(71)
2.51
(64)
38.44
(976)
Source: Weather.com [18]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1790 15,310
1800 17,35813.4%
1810 17,195−0.9%
1820 19,57913.9%
1830 20,1663.0%
1840 19,508−3.3%
1850 22,45615.1%
1860 24,99211.3%
1870 18,190−27.2%
1880 21,66819.1%
1890 24,15511.5%
1900 25,9237.3%
1910 26,4552.1%
1920 24,602−7.0%
1930 23,382−5.0%
1940 20,965−10.3%
1950 20,745−1.0%
1960 19,623−5.4%
1970 18,924−3.6%
1980 19,1881.4%
1990 23,44022.2%
2000 24,7475.6%
2010 26,4707.0%
2020 24,620−7.0%
2023 (est.)24,910 [19] 1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [20]
1790–1960 [21] 1900–1990 [22]
1990–2000 [23] 2010 [24] 2020 [25]

2020 census

Somerset County, Maryland - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / EthnicityPop 2010 [24] Pop 2020 [25] % 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)13,79612,88652.12%52.34%
Black or African American alone (NH)11,0829,44941.87%38.38%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)83800.31%0.32%
Asian alone (NH)1832500.69%1.02%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)210.01%0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)46690.17%0.28%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)4158101.57%3.29%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)8631,0753.26%4.37%
Total26,47024,620100.00%100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 26,470 people, 8,788 households, and 5,478 families residing in the county. [26] The population density was 82.8 inhabitants per square mile (32.0/km2). There were 11,130 housing units at an average density of 34.8 per square mile (13.4/km2). [27] The racial makeup of the county was 53.5% white, 42.3% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population. [26] In terms of ancestry, 13.3% were German, 11.5% were English, 9.2% were American, and 8.3% were Irish. [28]

Of the 8,788 households, 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 36.5 years. [26]

The median income for a household in the county was $42,443 and the median income for a family was $49,759. Males had a median income of $39,307 versus $33,067 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,919. About 12.7% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over. [29]

2000 census

As of the census [30] of 2000, there were 24,747 people, 8,361 households, and 5,444 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 inhabitants 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. The largest ancestry groups in the county are Black or African American (41%), English American (16%), German (8%), Irish (8%) and Italian (1%) ancestry.

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.

Politics and government

Presidential elections

In presidential elections, Somerset is a swing county that typically votes Republican. In 2012, it was one of only a handful of Southern counties to switch from the Republican McCain to the Democratic Obama, [31] though in 2016 it swung strongly in favor of Donald Trump. In 2020, Somerset shifted even more toward Trump, the only county in Maryland to trend this way, in spite of Maryland as a whole voting more Democratic; Biden won Talbot and Frederick counties, two counties that were formerly solidly Republican in presidential elections. It has the longest streak of voting for every incumbent president seeking re-election; it has done so since at least 1980. If Gerald Ford, who was never elected president, is not counted as an incumbent, this streak can be traced back to 1948 (Trump in 2020, Obama in 2012, Bush in 2004, Clinton in 1996, H.W. Bush in 1992, Reagan in 1984, Carter in 1980, Nixon in 1972, Johnson in 1964, and Eisenhower in 1956).

United States presidential election results for Somerset County, Maryland [32]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.%No.%No.%
2024 5,80557.27%4,05439.99%2782.74%
2020 5,73956.56%4,24141.80%1671.65%
2016 5,34153.95%4,19642.38%3633.67%
2012 5,04248.49%5,24050.39%1171.13%
2008 5,03750.76%4,77948.16%1081.09%
2004 4,88454.30%4,03444.85%760.85%
2000 3,60947.46%3,78549.78%2102.76%
1996 2,91940.72%3,55749.62%6939.67%
1992 3,45043.47%3,21040.45%1,27616.08%
1988 4,22258.93%2,91140.63%320.45%
1984 4,50864.68%2,43934.99%230.33%
1980 3,31247.74%3,34248.18%2834.08%
1976 3,25448.38%3,47251.62%00.00%
1972 4,34267.33%2,03631.57%711.10%
1968 2,82940.14%2,31932.91%1,89926.95%
1964 3,15541.07%4,52758.93%00.00%
1960 4,03050.51%3,94849.49%00.00%
1956 4,77061.15%3,03138.85%00.00%
1952 4,11350.76%3,95148.76%390.48%
1948 3,12949.67%3,11249.40%580.92%
1944 3,79054.81%3,12545.19%00.00%
1940 3,95447.13%4,35251.87%841.00%
1936 4,77053.25%4,11645.95%720.80%
1932 3,67543.01%4,81156.30%590.69%
1928 5,07168.57%2,27730.79%470.64%
1924 3,23051.19%2,90346.01%1772.81%
1920 3,65857.57%2,63441.45%620.98%
1916 2,36453.69%1,88542.81%1543.50%
1912 1,52843.01%1,61745.51%40811.48%
1908 1,91252.11%1,62744.34%1303.54%
1904 1,87451.53%1,58043.44%1835.03%
1900 2,85554.68%2,01738.63%3496.68%
1896 2,64650.80%2,08440.01%4799.20%
1892 1,81945.58%1,63841.04%53413.38%
1888 2,07250.90%1,62539.92%3749.19%
1884 2,02253.14%1,73445.57%491.29%
1880 1,88352.35%1,71047.54%40.11%
1876 1,78648.27%1,91451.73%00.00%
1872 1,61559.01%1,12240.99%00.00%
1868 42129.86%98970.14%00.00%
1864 64423.38%2,11076.62%00.00%
1860 20.07%893.00%2,87596.93%
1856 10.03%1,32145.32%1,59354.65%
1852 1,44356.41%1,11543.59%00.00%
1848 1,41358.41%1,00541.55%10.04%
1844 1,44961.63%90238.37%00.00%
1840 1,51664.24%84435.76%00.00%
1836 1,03066.32%52333.68%00.00%

Voter registration

Voter registration and party enrollment as of March 2024 [33]
Republican 6,136
Democratic 5,440
Unaffiliated2,518
Libertarian 66
Other parties 167
Total14,327

County commissioners

Somerset County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. Somerset County Commissioners are elected to four-year terms; all current commissioners' terms will expire in 2022.

Somerset County Commissioners [34]
DistrictNamePositionParty
4Charles LairdPresidentRepublican
5Randy LairdVice-PresidentDemocrat
3Eldon WillingCommissionerRepublican
2Darryl WebsterCommissionerRepublican
1Craig N. Mathies Sr.CommissionerDemocrat
n.a.Ralph D. TaylorCounty Administratorn.a.

Sheriffs

Stephen Horsey was appointed by the Governor of Maryland as the first sheriff of Somerset County on August 22, 1666, [35] and the Somerset County Sheriff's Office celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2011. The current sheriff is Ronald Howard (Republican), who has been serving as sheriff since 2014. [36]

Communities

City

Town

Census-designated places

The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places (CDPs) in the county:

Unincorporated communities

See also

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Worcester County is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460. Its county seat is Snow Hill. The county is part of the Lower Eastern Shore region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northampton County, Virginia</span> County in Virginia, United States

Northampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,282. Its county seat is Eastville. Northampton and Accomack Counties are a part of the larger Eastern Shore of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deale, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Deale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,945 at the 2010 census. It has a scenic view of Chesapeake Bay and is popular with boaters. Sudley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasadena, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Pasadena is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 24,287 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Essex is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Essex history dates back to 1909. The population was 40,505 in the 2020 census, up from 39,262 in the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Anne, Maryland</span> Town in Maryland, United States

Princess Anne is a town in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, that also serves as its county seat. Its population was 3,290 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland–Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the Teackle Mansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocomoke City, Maryland</span> City in Maryland, United States

Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke. The population was 4,295 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pocomoke City is a center for commerce on the lower shore, home to an industrial park currently playing host to defense contractors, aerospace engineering, and plastics fabrication. Pocomoke City is located near the Wallops Island Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow Hill, Maryland</span> Town in Maryland, United States

Snow Hill is a town and the county seat of Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockton, Maryland</span> CDP in Maryland, United States

Stockton [stɑːktɪn] is a census-designated place (CDP) in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 92 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxis, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia, United States

Saxis is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 241 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nassawadox, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia, United States

Nassawadox is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 533. The town, with an area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2), is located on U.S. Route 13 on Virginia's Eastern Shore, approximately five miles south of Exmore and 25 miles (40 km) north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Shore of Maryland</span> Part of the U.S. state of Maryland

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Maryland shares with Delaware and Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salisbury metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan Statistical Area in Maryland, United States

The Salisbury, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area is a United States Census Bureau–designated metropolitan area centered in and around Salisbury, Maryland, including two counties in Maryland: Somerset and Wicomico. Until 2023, the Salisbury MSA also included Worcester County.

The Annamessex people were a historic Native American tribe from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Their homelands were part of present-day Somerset County, Maryland.

References

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  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
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  4. Torrence, pp. 25–26
  5. Torrence, pp. 15–16
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  17. Maryland DNR Deal Island WMA
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  24. 1 2 "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Somerset County, Maryland". United States Census Bureau .
  25. 1 2 "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Somerset County, Maryland". United States Census Bureau .
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  32. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  33. "Maryland Board of Elections Voter Registration Activity Report March 2024" (PDF). Maryland Board of Elections. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
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  35. "Somerset County, Maryland - Sheriffs". Maryland State Archives. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
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