American Counties, How Are They Defined?

Purwell

Purwell

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Location
North Herts (UK)
I'm in the UK and in lots of U.S. films and television there is reference to the "county" so I presume the State is divided into smaller parts.
My questions are, how is it decided how many counties in a State, how much autonomy do they have and how does the system work?
 

I don't notice in my state that people identify with their county at all. We have fifty states and Americans usually identify by state or section of our vast country. Other Americans here can weigh in and let me know if it's different where they are. šŸ¤”
 
In New York State it started with the British. :giggle:

In 1665 the Duke of York established 12 Ridings or judicial districts that served as counties, today there are 62 counties.

Like so many forms of government in today's information age, they have little value or purpose. Groups have been formed to look at consolidating many villages, towns, and county governments but once created bureaucracies tend to fight tenaciously for their survival.

Here are a couple of links that will provide more detail on the formation of New York's counties.

https://www.nysac.org/files/HistoryofCounties.pdf

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/New_York_County_Creation_Dates_and_Parent_Counties
 

Like a lot of things it varies from State to State. Delaware has 3 counties, Texas 254. Louisiana, my home state, has parishes rather than counties, Alaska has boroughs. Rhode Island and Connecticut have more or less done away with county governments. We even have "counties" with no population, uninhabited islands that are US territories, like Howland Island (the one Emilia Earhart did not find).

For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_(United_States)
 
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This is a chart showing how the U.S. government is set up political in different areas.

 
A County is generally defined as a "Subdivision of the State" organized under a State Constitution. For example, in Ohio, County governments are overseen by a 3 Commissioner board, but there are 2 Counties in Ohio that have done away with that form and have an "Executive - Council" type. A "County Seat" is the State governmental center where County Courts are located, they try Felony Crimes and conduct other administrative functions. The County Sheriff runs the jail and is the highest law enforcement officer in the County, but that does not mean he or she has authority over other police agencies in the County as their boss.

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-constitution/section-10.1
 
I identify by state and also region of the country which is more important to Americans than the counties in their home state, like Pacific Northwest, West coast, Desert Southwest, Midwest, South east, Mid Atlantic and Northeast. Most of us will identify ourselves as one of these. :unsure:
 
chic said:
I don't notice in my state that people identify with their county at all.
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I think that varies a bit, but I believe you are right for the most part.

People will usually tell you the state and/or town they identify with, less often the county. The exception would be people from rural areas not in or close to a town, some of them will identify with state and county.

It gets confusing sometimes. For example the City of Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles County, but so are 87 other cities like Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and Santa Monica. To make things even more confusing when we talk about Los Angeles we can be referring to the city, the county or the metropolitan area which includes other counties.

Some towns have independent city governments, but some are really just place names within a county.
 
Arkansas has 75 counties. Usually the largest town in each county is the count seat, where the courthouse is located. Both criminal and civil trials are held there. The county sheriff is the elected law officer for each county.

Most people who don't live in a town give their address as the nearest town rather than the county. I don't live in Clarksville, I live in Johnson county but Clarksville is the closest town.
 
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I'm rural and we use counties a lot as place identifiers when talking with others in the area. Local weather forecasters do as well. Outside of the north and central part of the state, I use the nearest town. Farther away, I'll use state, then US geographic area.
 
Counties evolved with acquisition, settlement and population growth. For instance, in 1770 Augusta County VA stretched westward to the Mississippi River. Over time, other counties and then states were chopped off, causing settlers to 'move' but only on paper.

County/parish/borough records are extremely important to anyone researching family history as public records of early settlers remained with their courthouse at the time.of their actions. For instance, someone whose ancestors homesteaded the Ohio River valley in 1770 might find their early deeds and wills in present-day Augusta Co VA records.

Currently your county is very important in your everyday life; most especially if you live in a rural area. Each county has its own courthouse and specific laws regarding local issues such as policing, traffic, sanitation, courts, licensing, etc. conforming to any over-riding state rules. Local politics - county and state - are often a stepping stone for more important political posts.

America's disgrace is its poor participation in local - city, county, state - elections as those are the people who make most of the rules governing our day to day life.
 
Purwell said:
I'm in the UK and in lots of U.S. films and television there is reference to the "county" so I presume the State is divided into smaller parts.
My questions are, how is it decided how many counties in a State, how much autonomy do they have and how does the system work?
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You right, counties are smaller divisions of a state. Usually counties encompass several towns and a city or two. In the US, there are 50 states, and 50 ways of determining the size, and duties of a 'county'. Your question implies that there is a sane reason for the autonomy, and our system of counties.. We're still ;looking for one.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
...In the US, there are 50 states, and 50 ways of determining the size, and duties of a 'county'. Your question implies that there is a sane reason for the autonomy, and our system of counties.. We're still ;looking for one.
Click to expand...

To further complicate matters, each county then decides how they'll organize the records for which there are no specified federal or state level guidelines. That makes genealogy lots! of fun. šŸ™ƒ
 
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