Harford County
| Harford County, Maryland | |||
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| County | |||
| Harford County | |||
Harford County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Maryland |
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 Maryland's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | December 17, 1773 | ||
| Named for | Henry Harford | ||
| Seat | Bel Air | ||
| Largest city | Aberdeen | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 527 sq mi (1,365 km2) | ||
| • Land | 437 sq mi (1,132 km2) | ||
| • Water | 90 sq mi (233 km2), 17% | ||
| Population (est.) | |||
| • (2015) | 250,290 | ||
| • Density | 475/sq mi (183/km²) | ||
| Congressional districts | 1st, 2nd | ||
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||
| Website | www |
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Harford County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2010 census, the population was 244,826. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford 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.
In 1608 the area was settled by Massawomecks and Susquehannocks. The first European to see the area was John Smith in 1608 when he traveled up the Chesapeake Bay from Jamestown. In 1662 the English and Susquehannocks signed a treaty at what is now Annapolis for the area now called Harford County. Harford County was formed on March 22, 1774 from the eastern part of Baltimore County with a population of 13,000 people. On March 22, 1775 Harford County hosted the signers of the Bush Declaration, a precursor document to the American Revolution. On January 22, 1782 Bel Air became the county seat.
After supposedly marrying Mary Ann Holmes in 1821 Junius Brutus Booth Sr. moved to the county into a log cabin before building Tudor Hall in 1847. Junius Brutus Booth Sr. "was followed as a marvel. Mention of his name stirred an enthusiasm no other could awaken."Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. was born to the couple in Bel Air, Maryland in 1821 before managing the Boston Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Winter Garden Theatre, and Booth's Theatre where his younger brother Edwin was the star attraction. Though a relatively undistinguished actor, Junius Jr. was highly regarded for his performances as King John and Cassius in Julius Caesar, which he performed with Edwin as Brutus and John Wilkes as Mark Antony in 1864. He married Agnes Land Perry in 1867. He retired in 1881 to Masconomo House in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, where he died on September 17, 1883.Edwin Booth was also born in Bel Air but in 1833 and later toured America and Europe performing plays by Shakespeare before founding Booth's Theatre in New York in 1869. Some theatrical historians consider him the greatest American actor, and the greatest Prince Hamlet, of the 19th century. Edwin was a Unionist.
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