Map - Pleebo/Sodeken District (Pleebo/Sodeken District)

Pleebo/Sodeken District (Pleebo/Sodeken District)
Maryland County is a county in the southeastern portion of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has two districts. Harper serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 2297 km2. As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 136,404, making it the seventh most populous county in Liberia.

Named after the State of Maryland in the United States, it was an independent country as the Republic of Maryland from 1854 until it joined Liberia in 1857. The most populous city in the county is Pleebo, with 22,963 residents, while Maryland's County Superintendent is Nazarine Tubman. The county is bordered by Grand Kru County to the west and River Gee County to the north. The eastern part of Maryland borders the nation of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), separated by the Cavalla River.

Maryland was first established as a colony of the Maryland State Colonization Society in 1834, but was not granted independence until 1854. The Maryland Society had played a pivotal role on the formation of the larger American Colonization Society years before. Following a referendum in 1853, the colony declared its independence from the Colonization Society across the Atlantic Ocean and formed the Republic of Maryland. It held the land along the south coast between the Grand Cess and San Pedro Rivers.

In 1856, the Republic of Maryland requested military aid from nearby Liberia in a war with the Grebo and Kru peoples who were resisting the Maryland settlers' efforts to control their trade in slaves. Liberian President Joseph Jenkins Roberts assisted the Marylanders, and a joint military campaign resulted in victory. Following a referendum in February 1857 the Republic of Maryland joined Liberia as Maryland County on 6 April 1857. As of May 2004, a DRC census estimated the county's population to be 107,100.

During the 1970s, Maryland County was terrorized by ritual killings. The crimes have been regarded as "Liberia's most notorious ritual killing case" due to the number of murders, the involvement of high ranking government officials and their subsequent public executions.

 
Map - Pleebo/Sodeken District (Pleebo/Sodeken District)
Country - Liberia
Flag of Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5 million and covers an area of 43000 mi2. English is the official language, but over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity, the settlers carried their culture and tradition with them. Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847, which the U.S. did not recognize until February 5, 1862.
Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
LRD Liberian dollar $ 2
ISO Language
EN English language
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  Côte d'Ivoire 
  •  Guinea 
  •  Sierra Leone