Kent

Formed December 30, 1642 (2^nd county)

Kent County (19,195), Chestertown (5,530)

The 1969 red brick Classical Revival courthouse is located on Cross Street at High Street.  Maryland State Highway 213 is one block northeast of the location.  Walton & Madden are the courthouse architects.  There were 1707, 1721, and 1860 courthouses previously.  New Yarmouth was the first permanent county seat until 1700 when Chestertown assumed the role.  The county is named for Kent County, England.  The county seat is named for the Chester River.  Kent County was the birthplace of 1 Maryland Governor, Robert Wright.  The county was established on December 30, 1642 from unorganized territory as the 2^nd county. 

Kent County government consists of a manager, an administrator, and a sheriff (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Eight Circuit Court Judges and Six District Court Judges serve Kent, Cecil, Caroline, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties and a court clerk and a county attorney serve Kent County (judicial.) It is located in eastern Maryland on the border with Delaware.  Baltimore, Maryland is northwest and Washington, District of Columbia is west.  The county center is 2.9 miles North-Northeast of Chestertown.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Cecil County and Delaware and Queen Anne’s, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Harford counties. 

The area of the county is 414 square miles.  It is 19 out of 24 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 24 in population in the state.  It has a density of 46.4 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 24 in the state.  Kent County has 42.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 301 goes north to south in the county from Cecil County to Queen Anne’s County.  The county looks like a gas pump nozzle.  Chestertown is on the southern border in the western half of the county.  Chestertown is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 28.8% of the county population.