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Massachusetts Counties
 Click Image to Enlarge Massachusetts CountiesMassachusetts consists of the 14 counties. Massachusetts has abolished seven of its fourteen county governments, leaving five Counties with county-level local government (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth) and two, Nantucket County and Suffolk County, with combined county/city government. |
Barnstable County, MassachusettsBarnstable County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameAfter its county seat of Barnstable, which is named after the English town of Barnstaple Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryEstablished as a County in the year 1685, the current boundary lines were drawn in 1707 and have not changed since
that date. Although initially the counties of the Commonwealth were mainly judicial in nature, over time additional
responsibilities were assigned by the state legislature. Subsequently, many counties served as subdivisions of the state
government, serving as an adminstrative arm of the Commonwealth on a regional basis, but without legislative authority.
This changed in Barnstable County with the passage of the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter, signed into legislation
in July of 1988, which guaranteed certain rights of home rule for the county and established a legislative body with the
power to enact ordinances. This increased Barnstable County's accountability to the residents of Cape Cod and provided
for increased citizen participation and input in the function of County Government. The County seat is located in Barnstable Village on Historic Route 6A, the Old King's Highway, in the Town of
Barnstable. GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,306 square miles (3,382 kmē), of which, 396 square miles (1,024 kmē) of it is land and 910 square miles (2,357 kmē) of it (69.71%) is water. Barnstable County consists of the 15 coastal towns located on the peninsula known as Cape Cod. Bordered on the north by Cape Cod Bay, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by Nantucket Sound, it is the easternmost point of land in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With over 550 miles of shoreline and more than 360 lakes and ponds, the maritime heritage of the region is deeply rooted. Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
County Resources:Enter County Resources and Information Here |
County Resources
The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define
the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local.
And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions,
reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history. Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally." |
