Somerset County was settled and established by English colonists in part due to a response to theProvince/Dominion of Virginia passing a law in 1659/1660 requiring Quakers in the colony to convert toAnglicanism or leave the colony. A group of Virginia Quakers living inAccomack County, Virginia, on the southern tip of what later became known as theDelmarva Peninsula, petitionedCharles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore in 1661 to migrate to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the territory under his governance. The governor considered this an opportunity to fortify the borders of his territory on the Delmarva Peninsula against the pressing encroachment of the Virginians.[3]
The Royal Charter that Lord Baltimore had received from King Charles I in 1632 had granted Maryland the land north of the entire length of thePotomac River up to the40th parallel. Later surveys authorized by Baltimore on theEastern Shore of theChesapeake Bay indicated that the southern boundary would continue across the peninsula at the mouth of thePocomoke River. It was marked on the north shore by a rock outcropping labelled as "Watkins' Point". The Virginian Quakers settled just north of that point, on the southern bank of the Annemessex River in November 1662, A separate group of Anglican Virginian settlers were granted permission to make another settlement, further north along theManokin River.[4]
In conjunction with the two new settlements, Lord Baltimore set up a three-man commission for the Eastern Shore territory, made up of two Marylanders and one Virginian. Its purpose was ostensibly to oversee the territory, found new settlements, and maintain a detailed recording of all land and civic transactions in the area. Lord Baltimore intended to use the commission to reinforce Maryland's claim to the area and to monitor any encroachments by Virginians.[5]
In 1663, activists from Virginia persuaded the Virginia Assembly to declare that the Virginia-Maryland border was 30 miles (48 km) north of the Pocomoke Sound, at the mouth of theWicomico River. The Assembly tried to secure the allegiance to Virginia of all settlers south of the Wicomico River – including the Annemessex and Manokin settlements.[6] In early October 1663, a militia from Accomac County, Virginia led by a Colonel Edmund Scarborough arrived at the Annemessex settlement. They attempted to secure oaths of allegiance under threat of arrest and property confiscation. Scarborough was also on a personal mission to arrestStephen Horsey (born onIsle of Wight, England and immigrated to Northampton, Virginia, 1643), the leader of the anti-tax movement and a vocal critic of the colonial government. He along with fellow Northampton County residentsWilliam Coulborne,Randall Revell, andAmbrose Dixon signed theTricesimo die Marty 1651.
Scarborough and his force of 40 mounted men reached Horsey's new residence on October 11, 1663, and presented the Commands of the Assembly of Virginia against him. Horsey was "arrested" by Scarborough, but Horsey refused to accompany the party back to Virginia, declaring that he was going to remain in Maryland and maintain allegiance to the King and Lord Baltimore. The settlers expelled Scarborough and his force from the settlement.[7] The company moved on to theManokin Settlement, where they were received much more favorably.[8] Although the Anglican settlers there were willing to swear allegiance to the Virginia colonial government, they were not willing to take any action against Lord Baltimore's government. Scarborough returned to Virginia without success in taking over southern Somerset County for Virginia.[9]
The new settlers established a government for Somerset County, the eighth in theProvince of Maryland; it was formed from the southern part ofKent County. This had been organized in 1642 as the Province's second county, encompassing the entire Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake. Horsey was selected to sit on the first county court, which administered the new county.Charles Calvert appointed Stephen Horsey on December 11, 1665, along withCaptain William Thorne, William Stevens, George Johnson, John Winder, James Jones and Henry Boston.[10] Horsey sat as a regular member of the Somerset County Court through the winter and spring of 1666. He traveled across the Chesapeake Bay in 1665 with Captain Thorne to meet with Charles Calvert, who swore them in as county commissioners. Horsey established himself as a nonconformist and someone willing to stand up for his beliefs.[11]
Map of The Hundreds of Somerset County, Maryland as of 1669. Note the boundaries overlap with Sussex, Delaware and Accomac counties, Virginia.
County boundary disputes continued, including of the northern boundary. Baltimore believed his Eastern Shore territory extended to the top of the peninsula, where the Delaware River meets the Bay. In the 1680s,William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, claimed this territory as his own, based on a conflicting deed. Penn, Baltimore, and their heirs began a protracted legal battle to determine the boundaries. Their compromise was to split the Delmarva Peninsula; however, they disagreed as to whether the boundary line should be drawn at the location of Cape Henlopen or at Fenwick Island. There were few settlers in the frontier on either side to take issue. That boundary would finally be settled in 1763 when surveyorsCharles Mason andJeremiah Dixon incorporated theTranspeninsular Line (Mason–Dixon line) as the definitive boundary between Delaware and Maryland.
The territory continued to attract new settlers, primarily from Virginia, and by 1666, the territory had met the requirements to become established as a county in the province with its own local government. On August 22, 1666, Lord Baltimore issued a proclamation establishing the new county, including the establishment of a complete civil and military organization. The proclamation established a sheriff and a military commander for the county, and five surveyors charged with laying out a highway to serve the county. In January 1667, the county administration laid out the five initial districts, designated as "Hundreds", into which the county would be divided. Additional hundreds were added as additional knowledge of the area was surveyed.[12]
Settlement of the county generally proceeded from the Chesapeake Bay eastward, and from oldAccomack County northward. The original settlers in the first two settlements wereQuakers andAnglicans; and both groups continued to grow from ongoing immigration from the northern portions of the Virginia colony. In the 1670s, Scottish and Irish Presbyterians began to immigrate to the county, some from Virginia, some from the British Isles. In December 1680, a prominent member of the county and professed Anglican, William Stevens of Rehoboth settlement, sent a request to the Presbytery of Laggan in northern Ireland to consider sending aPresbyterian minister to Somerset county; and the first Presbyterian (Reformed) minister, Reverend Francis Makemie, arrived in early 1683, quickly followed by a growing list of additional Irish Presbyterian ministers and missionaries. The towns of Rehoboth andSnow Hill along thePocomoke River in the eastern (seaside) portion of Somerset County became Presbyterian centers in the county. The work of these Presbyterian ministers and missionaries eventually led to the organization of the Presbytery in Philadelphia in 1706, the forerunner ofAmerican Presbyterianism.
In 1689, the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 inEngland resulted in the exile of the Roman CatholicKing James II. After conquest by invasion, the Protestant Dutch rulersWilliam of Orange-Nassau and Mary of Orange (James II's Protestant daughter) later became King William III, (1650–1702) and Queen Mary II. The"Protestant Revolution" of 1689 in Maryland overthrew the Roman Catholic government, resulting in the reversion of Lord Baltimore's proprietary charter. The Province was converted into a Royal colony (with a later government controlled by the king and his ministers). The capital was moved from the Catholic stronghold atSt. Mary's City in southern Maryland to the more central, newly renamedAnnapolis on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, oppositeKent Island.
In 1692, theProvincial General Assembly established theChurch of England as the "established church" of the Province. This put pressure on the Quakers and Presbyterians, who were excluded from political office for a period. Their numbers in the county began a slow decline until theAmerican Revolution.[13]
For more than a century, the county and much of the colony were developed by planters, with the labor of enslaved Africans, for tobacco as a commodity crop. For many years they prospered, but tobacco exhausted the soil. By the early 19th century, after theAmerican Revolutionary War, some planters turned to mixed farming. The Eastern Shore remained primarily rural and steeped in slave society culture. Other parts of Maryland had an increasing proportion offree people of color, and more than half the blacks in the state were free before the Civil War.
After the defeat of theFrench Empire at the hands of theSeventh Coalition in July 1815, emperorNapoleon I sought to flee to the United States to escape imprisonment. According to local legends, Napoleon's brother,Jerome Bonaparte, had previously marriedElizabeth Patterson, an American socialite from Baltimore, and through her the Bonapartes had connections to the American gentry, such as the King family in Beverly. According to the 1944 book 'Rivers of the Eastern Shore' by Hulbert Footner,Nicholas Girod, formerMayor ofNew Orleans, attempted to rescue Napoleon from his exile in British Saint Helena in 1821, the plan being to hide Napoleon inBeverly House inPrincess Anne, Somerset County, before transporting him toNapoleon House in New Orleans once the hunt for him subsided.[14] However, Napoleon died before the plot could go ahead.
As the English colonies expanded, they encroached on Native American land. The coastal areas were occupied primarily byAlgonquian language-speaking tribes. The population of the latter decreased, due to disease, warfare and social disruption. Some of the tribes migrated west to the Ohio River Valley or joined with neighboring tribes to the north, such as the Lenape.
Some of the descendants of the tribes of Maryland remained. They intermarried with colonists, including white indentured servants, and African and African-American enslaved workers. Children of Native American mothers were generally absorbed and grew up in their culture, even ifmixed-race. The Catholic Church recorded Native American families in southern Maryland. In the late 20th century, many groups of Native American began to reorganize, noting their community continuity. Several tribes have been recognized by the state.
After the Dutch Anglo war, the Dutch Republic lost their North American lands along the North & South Rivers (that is, along the Hudson & the Delaware). The Dutch colony (2 miles X 20 miles) along the Delaware Bay, became Durham County Maryland, With the county seat being Lewes, 1665 until 1669. In 1669 it became part of Somerset County until 1683 when it given to William Penn.
In 1742,Worcester County to the east and the ocean, was organized as the thirteenth county of Maryland by separation from Somerset County. By 1867, portions of Somerset and Worcester counties were ceded to create a 22nd jurisdiction,Wicomico County. (The state in 1872 created a 23rd and final county in the far mountainous west, namedGarrett.)
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 610 square miles (1,600 km2), of which 320 square miles (830 km2) is land and 291 square miles (750 km2) (48%) is water.[16]
The State of MarylandDeal Island Wildlife Management Area, aprotected area, is in the northwest quadrant of the county. It incorporates not only Deal Island but the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. It is 13,000 acres (5,300 ha).[17] It has over 9 miles (14 km) of flat trails.
The county has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) with all months significantly above freezing, seven to eight months greater than 50 °F (10 °C),) and three months greater than 22 °C (72 °F).) Thehardiness zones are 7b and 8a.
Somerset County, Maryland – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 24,620 and a median age of 39.8 years, with 17.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.6% aged 65 or older; for every 100 females there were 120.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 124.7 males.[26] 40.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 59.7% lived in rural areas.[27]
There were 8,334 households in the county, of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 32.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[26]
There were 10,895 housing units, of which 23.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.9% were owner-occupied and 35.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.4%.[26]
As of the2010 United States census, there were 26,470 people, 8,788 households, and 5,478 families residing in the county.[29] The population density was 82.8 inhabitants per square mile (32.0/km2). There were 11,130 housing units at an average density of 34.8 per square mile (13.4/km2).[30] The racial makeup of the county was 53.5% white, 42.3% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population.[29] In terms of ancestry, 13.3% wereGerman, 11.5% wereEnglish, 9.2% wereAmerican, and 8.3% wereIrish.[31]
Of the 8,788 households, 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 36.5 years.[29]
The median income for a household in the county was $42,443 and the median income for a family was $49,759. Males had a median income of $39,307 versus $33,067 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,919. About 12.7% of families and 18.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.[32]
As of thecensus[33] of 2000, there were 24,747 people, 8,361 households, and 5,444 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 inhabitants per square mile (29/km2). There were 10,055 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 56.4%White, 41.1%Black orAfrican American, 0.4%Native American, 0.5%Asian, 0%Pacific Islander, 0.5% fromother races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. The largest ancestry groups in the county areBlack or African American (41%),English American (16%),German (8%),Irish (8%) andItalian (1%) ancestry.
There were 8,361 households, out of which 38.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% weremarried couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 15.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 18.5% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.1 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,903, and the median income for a family was $37,643. Males had a median income of $27,496 versus $23,035 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $15,965. About 15.0% of families and 20.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.
In presidential elections, Somerset is a swing county that typically votesRepublican. In 2012, it was one of only a handful ofSouthern counties to switch from the RepublicanMcCain to theDemocraticObama,[34] though in 2016 it swung strongly in favor ofDonald Trump. In 2020, Somerset shifted even more toward Trump, the only county in Maryland to trend this way, in spite of Maryland as a whole voting more Democratic;Biden wonTalbot andFrederick counties, two counties that were formerly solidly Republican in presidential elections. It has the longest streak of voting for every incumbent president seeking re-election; it has done so since at least1980. If Gerald Ford, who was never elected president, is not counted as an incumbent, this streak can be traced back to1948 (Trump in2020,Obama in2012,Bush in2004,Clinton in1996,H.W. Bush in1992,Reagan in1984,Carter in 1980,Nixon in1972,Johnson in1964, andEisenhower in1956).
United States presidential election results for Somerset County, Maryland[35]
Somerset County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland. Somerset County Commissioners are elected to four-year terms; all current commissioners' terms will expire in 2022.
Stephen Horsey was appointed by theGovernor of Maryland as the firstsheriff of Somerset County on August 22, 1666,[38] and the Somerset County Sheriff's Office celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2011. The current sheriff is Ronald Howard (Republican), who has been serving as sheriff since 2014.[39]
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. RetrievedJune 7, 2011.
^Torrence, Clayton,Old Somerset on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: A Study in Foundations and Founders, Whittett & Shepperson, Richmond, VA (1935); Reprint 2005, Heritage Books, Westminster, MD, pp. 13–15
