Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County is a located in the  of  on its. It is bordered by the to the northeast,  to the northwest,  to the northeast,  to the southeast,  to the east, and the  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. In, its population was 30,674. It was named for the , a family friend of the Calverts (the founding family of the Maryland colony). Its is.

History
Settlers from England began to claim lands in the mid 1600’s under land grants from Lord Baltimore and by 1669 Dorchester County was recognized as a County. 

In a part of Dorchester County, together with a portion of, was taken to form.

Dorchester has been home to a number of famous people:

was a notorious slave trader who lived in Dorchester County near the Caroline County and Delaware state line. She used her proximity to those borders to avoid authorities. Cannon and her husband Joe Johnson would steal slaves or kidnap free blacks, and sell them to slave markets in Georgia. 

(c. –, ), also known as "Black Moses" or "Moses of Her People," was an. An escaped slave, she made 19 voyages into the Deep South and helped over 300 slaves escape to Canada. During her lifetime she worked as a, laundress, nurse, and. As an abolitionist, she acted as intelligence gatherer, refugee organizer, raid leader,, and fundraiser.

(August 13, 1860-November 3, 1926) b. Phoebe Ann Mosey was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and luck led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and propelled her to become the first American female superstar. Using a .22 caliber rifle at 90 feet (27 m), Oakley could split a playing card edge-on and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground.

was one of five women honored for civil rights leadership during the March on Washington.

Law and government
Dorchester County operates under the Charter Home Rule form of government and the affairs of the County are managed by five County Council Members, one from each of the five Council districts 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.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,546 (983 ). 1,444 km² (558 sq mi) of it is land and 1,102 km² (425 sq mi) of it is water. The total area is 43.28% water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 30,674 people, 12,706 households, and 8,500 families residing in the county. The was 21/km² (55/sq mi). There were 14,681 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (26/sq mi). The of the county was 69.45%, 28.39% , 0.23% , 0.66% , 0.00% , 0.39% from , and 0.89% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population was of any race. 20.1% were of, 12.7% , 9.8% and 8.2%  ancestry according to.

There were 12,706 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.50% were 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 for the county was $18,929. 13.80% of the population and 10.10% of families were below the. 18.10% of those under the age of 18 and 14.20% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Public Schools

 * Dorchester County School of Technology
 * North Dorchester High School
 * Cambridge-South Dorchester High School
 * Mace's Lane Middle School
 * North Dorchester Middle School
 * Sandy Hill Elementary School
 * Choptank Elementary School
 * Hurlock Elementary School
 * Maple Elementary School
 * South Dorchester PK-8
 * Vienna Elementary School
 * Warwick Elementary School

Cities and towns
This county contains the following incorporated municipalities:


 * 1 :
 * (incorporated )
 * 8 s:
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )
 * (incorporated )

Other areas not listed as CDP's but known in the area include:

Sister Counties

 * 🇩🇪 -, since 2005

Media
The local newspapers are  and The Dorchester Star (a free, weekly publication). A regional newspaper, , serves several counties including Dorchester.