Harford County, Maryland

History: Harford County was formed in 1773 from the eastern part of Baltimore County. It contains Tudor Hall, birthplace of Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Harford County also hosted the signers of the Bush Declaration, a precursor document to the American Revolution. The county was named for Henry Harford (ca. 1759-1834), illegitimate son of Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. Harford was the last Proprietary Governor of Maryland, but did not inherit his father's title because of his illegitimacy. Havre de Grace, an incorporated city in Harford County, was once under consideration to be the capital of the United States rather than Washington, D.C.. It was favored for its strategic location at the top of the Chesapeake Bay; this location would facilitate trade while being secure in time of war. Today, the waterways around Havre de Grace have been silted, one of the primary environmental issues of Harford County. Geography: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 square miles (1,364 km²), of which, 440 square miles (1,140 km²) of it is land and 86 square miles (224 km²) of it (16.40%) is water. The terrain rises in elevation and relief from south to north, with flat areas south of U.S. Route 40. The highest elevation, at 805 ft., is located near the Pennsylvania border in the county's northwestern corner. The lowest elevation is sea level along the Chesapeake Bay. It pretty much sucks.