Editing Washington County, Maryland (section)

==History==
[[File:Seal of Washington County, Maryland (1950–1988).png|thumb|upright|left|The Washington County seal from 1950 to 1988; ''de facto'' as it was never officially adopted.]]
The western portions of the [[Province of Maryland]] (including present Washington County) were incorporated into [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] in 1696. This original county included six current counties. The first to be created was [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick]], separated from Prince George's County in 1748.

Following [[United States Declaration of Independence|independence]], the sovereign [[State of Maryland]] formed Washington County on September 6, 1776, by the division of [[Frederick County, Maryland|Frederick County]]. At the same time, a portion of Frederick County became part of the newly created [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]] along with portions from Prince George's County and Charles County, and was named for General [[Richard Montgomery]]. Washington County as created included land later to become [[Allegany County, Maryland|Allegany County]] (created in 1789) and [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]] (included in Allegany County when it was created in 1789, but separated from Allegany County in 1872). Washington County thus originally included the entire western part of the state.<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/mary/washington/], Washington County, Maryland History and Genealogy, 2006. Retrieved 2008.</ref>

A number of properties in the county are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maryland|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008b}}</ref>