You may be confused by historical references to births, deaths, or events that should have been in Montgomery County but are listed in Prince George’s or Frederick County. Those listings were correct at the time. But Maryland counties have been created, divided, subdivided, vanished, re-formed and renamed through the years since King Charles I granted the Maryland Colony charter to Cecil Calvert, the Second Lord Baltimore, in 1632. The charter had been requested by Cecil’s father George who died just weeks before the king sealed the charter.
In 1637, Maryland’s first county, St. Mary’s, was created from the wild unorganized Maryland territory as a swath of land running on both sides of Chesapeake Bay. This original St. Mary’s County encompassed portions of what are now Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, and Dorchester Counties. Between 1654 and 1658 it was briefly renamed Potomac County.
In 1642 the section of St. Mary’s County on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake became Kent County, named for Kent County in southeast England, which borders the English Channel. In 1650, two counties were carved from portions of St. Mary’s County on the western Chesapeake shore. Anne Arundel County was named in honor of Anne Arundel, the beloved, late wife of Cecil Calvert, the Second Lord Baltimore. Old Charles County was named for Charles Calvert, the Third Lord Baltimore.
In 1654, Anne Arundel County was renamed Providence County, St. Mary’s County was renamed Potomac, and Charles County was renamed Patuxent.
For the next forty years counties sprung up, divided, renamed and reshuffled on the Eastern shore of Maryland. In 1695 Prince George’s County was created from Maryland’s more wild unorganized territory as well as parts of Charles and Calvert counties. At that time, Prince George’s County included both the current Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.
Frederick County was created in 1748 from part of Prince George’s County and other western wild unorganized territory. It overlayed the current Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties.
Montgomery County was formed by resolve of the Constitutional Convention of 1776 on September 6, 1776. Created from the southern part of Frederick County, Montgomery County was named for Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery (1738-1775). That same resolve created Washington County from part of Frederick County.
If your head is spinning, just remember the important years of change for our area. Before 1695 the only formal court was in the only Maryland county, St. Mary’s County. Any legal filings or recordings may be found there. Between 1695 and 1748 our area was Prince George’s County. Any legal proceeding, including land records, may be found in the records of Prince George’s County.
Between 1748 and1776 this area was Frederick County. Look to Frederick County for any legal documents or information.
If you are curious about other counties, or would like to watch the evolution of county boundaries, click through the dizzying changes illustrated on the maps on this site.