Formed August 26, 1666 (8th county)
Somerset County (24,618), Princess Anne (3,441)
The red brick Georgian Revival facility was built in 1905. It is located on Prince William Street between Somerset and Church streets. United States Highway 13 is three blocks to the west of the courthouse. It used the designs of Frank E. and Henry R. Davis. Somerset Town (1666), Dividing Creek (1694), and Princess Anne (1792) were all county seats. Princess Anne had 1797 and 1833 courthouses before the current building. There is also a District Courthouse supporting the county. The county is named for Lady Somerset. The county seat is named for the daughter of King George II. She is also the source for the county seat of Anne Arundel County. Somerset County was the birthplace of 3 Maryland Governors, Thomas K. Carroll, Phillips L. Goldsborough, and J. Millard Tawes. Somerset County was created on August 26, 1666 from unorganized territory as the 8th county. Worcester and Wicomico counties were later separated out.
Somerset County government consists of a manager, an administrator, and a sheriff (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Seven Circuit Court Judges and Five District Court Judges serve Somerset, Dorchester, Wicomico, and Worcester counties and a court clerk and a county attorney serve Somerset County (judicial.) The county is in the southeast on the border with Virginia. Baltimore, Maryland is northwest and Virginia Beach, Virginia is south. The county center is 8.9 miles Southwest of Princess Anne nearer Westover. The county is surrounded clockwise by Wicomico and Worcester counties and Virginia and Saint Mary’s and Dorchester counties.
The area of the county is 611 square miles. It is 7 out of 24 in the state. It ranks 23 out of 24 in population in the state. It has a density of 40.3 persons per square mile making it 23 out of 24 in the state. Somerset County has 24.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 13 crosses north to southeast in the county from Wicomico County to Worcester County. The county is shaped like a witch’s face with two added islands. Princess Anne is in the northern quarter of the county. Princess Anne is the county seat and the largest city. It is 14.0% of the county population. This county is in the Salisbury Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Crisfield
Princess Anne
