Harford

Formed December 17, 1773 (16^th county)

Harford County (260,924), Bel Air (10,663), Aberdeen (16,281)

A small red brick courthouse built in 1858 and remodeled in 1904 now augments the new courthouse for Harford County.  The new courthouse is a red brick and concrete Modern building built in 1984.  It is located at Courtland and Main streets.  United States Highway 1 Business is one block west of the site.  The new courthouse’s architect is unknown.  A District Courthouse supports the county.  The county is named for Henry Harford, son of Frederick Calvert, 6^th Baron of Baltimore.  The county seat’s name is a descriptive term for the area.  Harford County was the birthplace of 2 Maryland Governors, William Paca and Augustus W. Bradford.  Harford County was created on December 17, 1773 from Baltimore County as the 16^th county with Bel Air as the only county seat. 

Harford County government consists of an executive, an administrator, and a sheriff (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  Twenty-five Circuit Court Judges serve Harford and Baltimore counties and Four District Court Judges, a court clerk and a county attorney serve Harford County (judicial.) It is located in northeast Maryland.  Baltimore, Maryland is southwest and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is northeast of the county.  The county center is 4 miles Northeast of Bel Air nearer Forest Hill.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Pennsylvania and Cecil, Kent, and Baltimore counties. 

The area of the county is 527 square miles.  It is 10 out of 24 in the state.  It ranks 8 out of 24 in population in the state.  It has a density of 495.1 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 24 in the state.  Harford County has 16.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 crosses east to west in the county from Cecil County to Baltimore County.  United States Highway 1 goes northeast to southwest from Cecil County to Baltimore County.  United States Highway 40 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Cecil to Baltimore counties.  The county is shaped like a funnel bent toward the northwest.  Bel Air is in the western half of the county.  Aberdeen is in the northeast corner of the county.  Bel Air is the county seat and Aberdeen is the largest city.  Bel Air is 4.1% of the county population while Aberdeen is 6.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area.