Queen Anne's County is located on the

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...

of the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and most populous

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

is Centreville. The

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

of Stevensville is the county's most populous place. The county is named for Queen Anne of Great Britain, who reigned when the county was established in 1706 during the colonial period. Queen Anne's County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area, and is the easternmost in both. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge connects Queen Anne County of the

to Anne Arundel County on the Western Shore. The American Discovery Trail runs through the county.

History

Queen Anne's County has two hundred sixty-five miles of waterfront, much of that being the shores of Kent Island, which stands out from the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. From the waters of this county,

watermen A waterman is a river worker who transfers passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in the United Kingdom and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway in England, but other rivers such as the ...

have harvested oysters, crabs, and terrapin. Migrating waterfowl overwinter here, and hunting for geese and ducks has been an important part of the county's history. The first Anglo-European settlement in Maryland was on Kent Island on August 21, 1631, and included twenty-five settlers in a manor house, a fort, and other buildings. The settlement was referred to as Winston's Island. The first houses were built similar to log cabins. The county has a number of properties on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

, but nothing remains of this original settlement. Stevensville, earlier known as Broad Creek, is one of the oldest towns still existing. Queen Anne's County was organized under a sheriff in 1706, bounded by Talbot,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and Dorchester counties. In 1713, Queen Anne's County became an English postal district; the sheriff was also appointed as the postmaster and would travel to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

by boat across the Chesapeake Bay to obtain mail. In 1773 a part of Queen Anne's County, together with a portion of Dorchester County, was taken to form Caroline County. The county now is enclosed by Talbot, Caroline, and Kent counties, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. By the time of

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

, the county had several churches, a government, school, and a postal system. It was developed for agriculture, and enslaved African Americans worked the fields of plantations. Tobacco was an early commodity crop but it exhausted the soil. By the Revolution, some planters were converting to mixed agriculture, which was less labor intensive. They sold excess slaves in the domestic trade to the developing cotton plantations of the Deep South. In 1876, Queen Anne's County had the first printed independent paper called the ''Maryland Citizen''. A bank was located in Centreville; the Centreville National Bank is still operating. A railway was constructed here in 1868; it operated from Baltimore, passing around the top of the Chesapeake Bay down to Queenstown, and connected with other railroads that continued east into Delaware as far as Rehoboth, and southward to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. In the 20th century, Queen Anne's County was the home of Jimmie Foxx, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. A statue and small park commemorate him in Sudlersville, where Foxx grew up.

Politics and government

Queen Anne's was historically the most strongly secessionist county in Maryland, dominated by the Democratic Party of the planters. Following the American Civil War, the predominately conservative white voters voted for the Democratic Presidential nominee in every election from 1868 to 1948. Former general Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first Republican to carry the county in 1952. Since the late 20th century, Queen Anne's white voters have largely shifted to the Republican Party, in a realignment that has taken place among conservative whites across the South following the tumultuous 1960s and passage of national civil rights legislation. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Queen Anne's County since Texan Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide. Democrat

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

in 1980 remains the last Democrat to obtain even forty percent of the county’s vote. Queen Anne's County was granted home rule in 1990 under a state code. The county has a commission form of government. The commission consists of five commissioners: one

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

and four of whom must reside in the district they represent. All of the commissioners are elected by the general population. The at-large commissioner serves as president the first year following election. County code allows for rotation of the president position thereafter. The current Board of Commissioners was elected in the 2018 election, and serves a four-year term. The current County Commissioners are Stephen Wilson (District 2), Christopher M. Corchiarino (District 4), Philip L. Dumenil (District 3), James J. Moran (At-Large), and Jack N. Wilson, Jr. (District 1). The current form of five commissioners elected at large started in 2002. Prior to the 2002 election, Queen Anne's County was run by three commissioners.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (27%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Kent County (north) * Kent County, Delaware (east) * Talbot County (south) * Caroline County (southeast) * Anne Arundel County (west)

Major highways

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

and

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

are the major highways serving Queen Anne's County.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 40,563 people, 15,315 households, and 11,547 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 109 people per square mile (42/km²). There were 16,674 housing units at an average density of 45 per square mile (17/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.05%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 8.78%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.43% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 16.9% were of German, 15.1% American, 14.6% English, 14.2% Irish and 5.3% Italian ancestry. There were 15,315 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $57,037, and the median income for a family was $63,713. Males had a median income of $44,644 versus $30,144 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $26,364. About 4.40% of families and 6.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.20% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 47,798 people, 18,016 households, and 13,314 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 20,140 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.7% white, 6.9% black or African American, 1.0% 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 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.9% were German, 22.4% were Irish, 15.8% were English, 6.2% were Italian, and 6.1% were American. Of the 18,016 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.1% were non-families, and 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 42.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $81,096 and the median income for a family was $89,188. Males had a median income of $57,218 versus $43,371 for females. The per capita income for the county was $35,964. About 3.8% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the

, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

* Kent Island High School * Queen Anne's County High School *Centreville Middle School *Matapeake Middle School *Stevensville Middle School *Sudlersville Middle School *Bayside Elementary School *Centreville Elementary School *Church Hill Elementary School *Grasonville Elementary School *Kennard Elementary School *Kent Island Elementary School *Matapeake Elementary School *Sudlersville Elementary School * Gunston Day School *Wye River Upper School

Colleges and universities

* Chesapeake College

Communities

Towns

* Barclay * Centreville (county seat) * Church Hill * Millington (partly in Kent County) * Queen Anne (partly in Talbot County) * Queenstown * Sudlersville *

Templeville Templeville is a town in Caroline and Queen Anne's counties, Maryland, United States. Templeville is located near the Maryland-Delaware line. The population was 138 at the 2010 census. It was known as Bullock Town until the name was changed in 18 ...

(partly in Caroline County)

Census-designated places

The Census Bureau recognizes the following

s in the county: *

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

* Grasonville * Kent Narrows *

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centr ...

* Stevensville

Unincorporated communities

* Crumpton *

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

* Ingleside *

Love Point Love Point is the name for the northernmost tip of Kent Island, Maryland, United States and as such, marks the southern point of the mouth of the Chester River. It has served as a major ferry terminal, the western terminus of the Queen Anne's Railr ...

* Matapeake *

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in t ...

* Romancoke * Ruthsburg

References

External links

Queen Anne's County governmentKent Island & Queen Anne's County News
{{authority control Maryland counties 1706 establishments in Maryland Populated places established in 1706 Maryland counties on the Chesapeake Bay