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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. |
Worcester County, MassachusettsWorcester County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
Etymology - Origin of County NameFor its county seat of Worcester, which is named in honor of the English town of Worcester and the English Civil War Battle of Worcester in 1651, a Parliamentarian victory Demographics:County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts County HistoryWorcester County was established on April 2, 1731, Worcester was chosen as its shire town (later known as a
county seat). From that date until the dissolution of the county government, it was the only county seat. Because of
the size of the county, there were fifteen attempts over 140 years to split the county into two counties, but
without success. Initially, Lancaster was proposed as the seat of the northern county; later, Petersham was proposed
once and Fitchburg was proposed repeatedly, most recently in 1903. Perhaps as a concession, in August 1884, the
Worcester County Registry of Deeds was split into two, with the Worcester Northern registry placed in Fitchburg. Worcester County exists today only as a historical geographic region. It has had no county government since July 1, 1998, when all former county functions were assumed by other governmental agencies GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,579 square miles (4,090 kmē), of which,
1,513 square miles (3,919 kmē) of it is land and 66 square miles (171 kmē) of it (4.18%) is water. The county
constitutes Central Massachusetts, separating Western Massachusetts on one side from Eastern Massachusetts and the
Greater Boston area on the other side. It stretches from the northern to the southern border of the state. The
geographic center of Massachusetts is in Rutland. 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." |
