Dorchester County, Maryland Totally Explained

Everything about Dorchester County Maryland totally explained

Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the northeast, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware to the east, and the Chesapeake Bay to the west. Dorchester County uses the slogan, "The Heart of Chesapeake Country," due to its geographical location and the heart-like shape of the county on a map. In 2000, its population was 30,674. It was named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (the founding family of the Maryland colony). Its county seat is Cambridge.

History

Settlers from England began to claim lands in the mid 1600’s under land grants from Lord Baltimore and by 1669 Dorchester County was recognized as a County.
In 1773 a part of Dorchester County, together with a portion of Queen Anne's County, was taken to form Caroline County.
Dorchester has been home to a number of famous people:
Patty Cannon was a notorious slave trader who lived in Dorchester County near the Caroline County and Delaware state line. She used her proximity to those borders to avoid authorities. Cannon and her husband Joe Johnson would steal slaves or kidnap free blacks, and sell them to slave markets in Georgia. Harriet Tubman (c. 1820–March 10, 1913), also known as "Black Moses" or "Moses of Her People," was an African American abolitionist. An escaped slave, she made 19 voyages into the Deep South and helped over 300 slaves escape to Canada. During her lifetime she worked as a lumberjack, laundress, nurse, and cook. As an abolitionist, she acted as intelligence gatherer, refugee organizer, raid leader, nurse, and fundraiser. Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860-November 3, 1926) b. Phoebe Ann Mosey was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and luck led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and propelled her to become the first American female superstar. Using a .22 caliber rifle at 90 feet (27 m), Oakley could split a playing card edge-on and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground. Gloria Richardson was one of five women honored for civil rights leadership during the March on Washington.

Law and government

Dorchester County operates under the Charter Home Rule form of government and the affairs of the County are managed by five County Council Members, one from each of the five Council districts defined within the County. Meetings of the County Council are held weekly. The agenda and the minutes of each week’s proceedings are public record.

Law Enforcement

The county is policed by the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office (DCSO), the Maryland State Police, and the DNR Police. The DCSO is a full service agency, currently headed by Sheriff James W. Phillips Jr.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 983 square miles (2,546 km²), of which, 557.54 square miles (1,444 km²) of it's land and 425 square miles (1,102 km²) of it's water. The total area is 43.28% water.

Adjacent Counties

Caroline County (north)
Sussex County, Delaware (northeast)
Wicomico County (east)
Somerset County (southeast)
Talbot County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 30,674 people, 12,706 households, and 8,500 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 14,681 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.45% White, 28.39% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.1% were of American, 12.7% English, 9.8% German and 8.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
   There were 12,706 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.50% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.86.
   In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.
   The median income for a household in the county was $34,077, and the median income for a family was $41,917. Males had a median income of $29,014 versus $22,284 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,929. 13.80% of the population and 10.10% of families were below the poverty line. 18.10% of those under the age of 18 and 14.20% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

Public Schools

Dorchester County School of Technology

North Dorchester High School

Cambridge-South Dorchester High School

Mace's Lane Middle School

North Dorchester Middle School

Sandy Hill Elementary School

Choptank Elementary School

Hurlock Elementary School

Maple Elementary School

South Dorchester PK-8

Vienna Elementary School

Warwick Elementary School

Cities and towns

This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:

1 City:

Cambridge (incorporated 1793)

8 Towns:

Brookview (incorporated 1953)
Church Creek (incorporated 1867)
East New Market (incorporated 1832)
Eldorado (incorporated 1947)
Galestown (incorporated 1951)
Hurlock (incorporated 1892)
Secretary (incorporated 1900)
Vienna (incorporated 1833)

1 census-designated place (CDP), not incorporated but studied by the United States Census Bureau:

Algonquin Other areas not listed as CDPs but known in the area include:

Crapo

Wingate

Toddville

Sister Counties

- Düren (district), since 2005

Media

The local newspapers are The Daily Banner and The Dorchester Star (a free, weekly publication). A regional newspaper, The Star Democrat, serves several counties including Dorchester.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Dorchester County Maryland'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://dorchester_county__maryland.totallyexplained.com">Dorchester County, Maryland Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.