The New County Movement in Maryland

Yesterday delegations from Prince George's, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties met in convention at Annapolis to finalize organization of a new Maryland county. Laurel County will consist of portions of those counties and of Montgomery County.

Keith Sydnor, Mayor of Laurel, presided, with Jim Cross, Laurel Board of Trade Chairman, secretary. The memorial proposed by the Laurel convention was considered, and it was resolved that a committee of seven should be appointed to define the proper boundaries of the proposed new county and to prepare and submit to the legislature a memorial and bill for the organization, and to advocate the passage of the bill at the present session of the legislature.

James Kole, Joshua Rosales, and Mike Abbott of Price George’s; Mike Mondy and Leda Poduszka of Howard; and Denise Redmond and Jason Plotkin of Baltimore County, were appointed the committee. The committee affirmed the memorial prepared by the Laurel convention, set Laurel as the name of the new county, and designated the Town of Laurel as the county seat.

With these affirmations, and with a slight amendment respecting the boundary lines, the memorial was adopted by the convention. A subcommittee, composed of Abbott, Mondy and Redmond, was appointed to prepare the memorial as amended and a proper bill to be presented to the Maryland Legislature as soon as possible. After which the convention adjourned.

Laurel County boundaries were adopted at the convention.

The boundaries of the proposed county are as follows: Commencing at the east corner of the District of Columbia to the Crain Hwy (Rt 450) bridge over the Patuxent river in Prince George’s, in a straight line; thence north through Anne Arundel to Hammonds Ferry Road bridge over the Patapsco; thence southwest with the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Hanover; thence westwardly to Simpsonville, Howard County; thence by way of Lime Kiln Road to Brown's Bridge over the Patuxent River to Montgomery County; thence northwesterly to Sandy Spring road in Ashton; thence due south to the north corner of the District of Columbia; thence along the District line to the place of beginning.

This will make it necessary to add a part of Anne Arundle County to Prince George’s, in order to leave Prince George’s the requisite extent of territory and population; and then the new county will contain the requisite number of square miles and population.