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Coordinates: 38°25′N 76°05′W / 38.42°N 76.08°W / 38.42; -76.08

Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Maryland's location within the U.S.
Founded	1669
Named for	Earl of Dorset
Seat	Cambridge
Largest city	Cambridge
Area
• Total	983 sq mi (2,546 km2)
• Land	541 sq mi (1,401 km2)
• Water	442 sq mi (1,145 km2), 45%
Population (est.)
• (2017)	32,162
• Density	59/sq mi (23/km2)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC−5/−4
Website	www.docogonet.com

Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,618.^[1] Its county seat is Cambridge.^[2][3] The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (the founding family of the Maryland colony).^[4]

Dorchester County comprises the Cambridge, MD Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area. It is located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Dorchester County is the largest county on the Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, 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.

History

Many of the residents of Dorchester County make their living as farmers or working on the water. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries provide harvests of crabs, oysters, and many fish species to both commercial and recreational fisherman. Dorchester County, Maryland was the birthplace of Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slavery and afterward worked to guide other refugee slaves to freedom in the North.^[5]

Dorchester County has been hit by two deadly tornadoes. The first one occurred on June 23, 1944 in Cambridge, where 2 people were killed and 33 were injured. The other was on May 8, 1984 in Hurlock, where one death and 6 injuries were reported.^[6] Both storms caused between 500,000 and 5 million dollars in damage.^[7][8]

Politics, government and law

Dorchester County operates under the Charter Home Rule form of government, and the affairs of the County are managed by five County Council Members. Each is elected from a single-member district 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.^[9]

The white population of Dorchester has historically voted very conservatively. Along with rock-ribbed Unionist Garrett County, located in Appalachia, its white majority was one of only two Maryland counties to vote for Barry Goldwater in 1964. During the following election, Dorchester was the only county in the state where segregationist George Wallace outpolled either Nixon or Humphrey. In the late 20th century, white conservatives in the South shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party. Since then the only Democratic presidential nominee to carry Dorchester County was southern native son Bill Clinton in 1996.

The county has trended less conservative in recent years, with Democrat Barack Obama coming within five percentage points of beating Mitt Romney in the presidential election 2012; Obama won nationally. In earlier times, unlike highly secessionist Wicomico, Worcester, Queen Anne’s and Cecil counties,^[10] Dorchester was a swing county in the late 19th century due to the voting power of its freedman population, who strongly supported the Republican Party. The conservative whites voted Democratic for William Jennings Bryan in 1908, after Maryland had passed laws raising barriers to voter registration among blacks, resulting in a dramatic drop in their voting until after passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s.^[11]

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.^[13]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 983 square miles (2,550 km²), of which 541 square miles (1,400 km²) is land and 442 square miles (1,140 km²) (45%) is water.^[14] It is the largest county in Maryland by total area.

Adjacent counties

• 
  Caroline County (north)


• 
  Sussex County, Delaware (northeast)


• 
  Talbot County (northwest)


• 
  Somerset County (southeast)


• 
  Saint Mary's County (southwest)


• 
  Wicomico County (east)


• 
  Calvert County (west)

National protected area

• Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census^[20] 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.

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.^[21]

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,618 people, 13,522 households, and 8,894 families residing in the county.^[22] The population density was 60.3 inhabitants per square mile (23.3/km²). There were 16,554 housing units at an average density of 30.6 per square mile (11.8/km²).^[23] The racial makeup of the county was 67.6% white, 27.7% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population.^[22] In terms of ancestry, 17.0% were American, 13.9% were English, 11.4% were German, and 11.1% were Irish.^[24]

Of the 13,522 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 43.3 years.^[22]

The median income for a household in the county was $45,151 and the median income for a family was $56,662. Males had a median income of $40,814 versus $30,184 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,139. About 9.5% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.^[25]

As of 2010 the racial makeup of the county was 66.16% Non-Hispanic whites, 27.70% blacks, 0.34% Native Americans, 0.92% Asians, 0.03% Pacific Islanders, 0.09% Non-Hispanics from some other race, 1.64% Non-Hispanics reporting two or more races and 3.64% Hispanic or Latino.

Education

Public schools

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.

Dorchester County is included in the coverage area of local television stations WBOC, WMDT and WRDE. It also receives coverage from television stations based in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.. It is also served by a local LPFM station, WHCP-LP (101.5FM), operated by locally-based nonprofit Cambridge Community Radio, Inc.

Communities

City

• 
  Cambridge (county seat)

Towns

Census-designated places

• Algonquin


• Elliott


• Fishing Creek


• Madison


• Taylors Island

Notable person

• 
  Harriet Tubman Abolitionist hero

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dorchester County, Maryland

References

External links

• Dorchester County Government


• Dorchester County Tourism


• Dorchester County Economic Development


• 
  Geographic data related to Dorchester County, Maryland at OpenStreetMap