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There are 23 counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Maryland. Though formally an independent city rather than a county, the City of Baltimore is considered the equal of a county for most purposes and is functionally a county-equivalent in most respects.
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Jun 24, 2024 · Baltimore County almost entirely surrounds the city of Baltimore and is the largest jurisdiction in the metropolitan area, with a population of over 800,000. On the other hand, Baltimore City is an independent city that was split off from Baltimore County in 1851.
- Gladys Moran
For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a county-level entity. The United States Census Bureau uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.
- Overview
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- The contemporary city
Baltimore, city, north-central Maryland, U.S., about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. It lies at the head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 miles (25 km) above Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is Maryland’s largest city and economic centre and constitutes the northeastern hub of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The city, separated...
Baltimore was established in 1729 and named for the Irish barony of Baltimore (seat of the Calvert family, proprietors of the colony of Maryland). It was created as a port for shipping tobacco and grain, and soon local waterways were being harnessed for flour milling. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, it was a bustling seaport and shipbuilding centre. Baltimore clippers plied the seas, and trade extended to the Caribbean. The U.S. Navy’s first ship, the Constellation, was launched in Baltimore in 1797, and its namesake, the last all-sail warship built (1854) for the navy, has been moored in the city’s harbour since 1955; in the late 1990s the ship underwent extensive restoration. The Continental Congress met in Baltimore (December 1776–March 1777) when it was feared that the British would attack Philadelphia, then the national capital.
During the War of 1812 the British tried to capture Baltimore; U.S. forces’ successful defense (September 13–14, 1814) of nearby Fort McHenry (now a national monument and historic shrine) was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s poem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The eastern terminus for the nation’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio (1827), was the city’s Mount Clare Station; the station has been preserved and is now the site of a railroad museum. During the American Civil War (1861–65), though Maryland did not secede from the Union, many of its citizens had Southern sympathies. Union troops occupied Baltimore throughout the war, and the city recovered only gradually from that period of severe disruption.
Baltimore is now a major seaport with ship-repair facilities and a highly diversified economy. The port opens to the sea through Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is a major automobile-shipping point. Services, including health care, education, finance, and insurance, are a major component of the economy. The headquarters of the Federal Social Security Administration is in the city, and other federal government services and the military are also important. Manufactures include automobiles, electronics, steel, processed foods, paper and plastic products, and aircraft parts.
The city is part of the busy Northeast Corridor passenger rail system. Baltimore/Washington International Airport, just south of the city, also serves Washington, D.C. The Baltimore Harbor (1957) and Fort McHenry (1985) tunnels and Francis Scott Key Bridge (1977) cross the Patapsco River. There is a dense network of interstate highways and other roads between Baltimore and Washington.
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Baltimore and the surrounding area is a centre of higher education. Located there are the renowned Johns Hopkins University (1876), which includes the Peabody Institute Conservatory of Music (1857; affiliated with Johns Hopkins since 1977); Coppin State University (1900), Towson University (1866), the University of Maryland, Baltimore (1807), and the University of Baltimore (1925), all part of the University of Maryland system; Loyola University Maryland (1852); the Notre Dame of Maryland University (1873); Morgan State University (1867); the Maryland Institute College of Art (1826); Goucher College (1885); and Baltimore City Community College (1947).
Among the city’s other cultural institutions are the Enoch Pratt Free Library (1882), the Baltimore Museum of Art (1914), the Walters Art Museum (1934; formerly called Walters Art Gallery), a symphony orchestra, and opera and theatre companies. The Baltimore Civil War Museum (1997) has exhibits on the city’s role in the Underground Railroad. The Inner Harbor area, revitalized in the 1980s, includes the National Aquarium in Baltimore and other attractions.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Baltimore County (/ ˈ b ɔː l t ɪ m ɔːr / BAWL-tim-or, locally: / b ɔː l d ə ˈ m ɔːr / bawl-da-MOR or / ˈ b ɔː l m ər / BAWL-mər [1]) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city of ...
Twenty-three counties and Baltimore City make up the twenty-four main local jurisdictions found in Maryland. Baltimore City, although a municipality, has been considered on a par with county jurisdictions since the adoption of the Maryland Constitution of 1851.
Origin: As a municipality within Baltimore County, Baltimore City was incorporated in 1796 by legislation that took effect in 1797 (Chapter 68, Acts of 1796; Chapter 54, Acts of 1797). The City name was derived from the Proprietary's Irish Barony.