A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is in use in five countries: Canada , China , Hungary , Romania , and the United States . An equivalent term, shire town , is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions, such as Venezuela .
31-624: Bay Minette is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama , United States . As of the 2010 census , the population of the city was 8,044. In the first days of Baldwin County, the town of McIntosh Bluff (now in Mobile County , west of Baldwin County) on the Tombigbee River was the county seat. After being transferred to the town of Blakeley in 1810, the county seat was later moved to
62-526: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending
93-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in
124-454: A female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was 23.6% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
155-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of
186-447: Is often difficult, since methodologies, definitions and data quality can vary greatly. Since the 1990s, the OECD has conducted regular surveys among its 38 member countries using a standardized methodology and set of questions. Per capita income is often used to measure a sector's average income and compare the wealth of different populations. Per capita income is also often used to measure
217-559: Is part of the Daphne – Fairhope – Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2020 United States census , there were 8,107 people, 2,812 households, and 1,690 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2010, there were 8,040 people, 2,744 households, and 1,884 families residing in the city. The population density was 930 inhabitants per square mile (360/km) . There were 3,586 housing units at an average density of 417 square miles (1,080 km) . The racial makeup of
248-780: Is provided by BRATS, the Baldwin Regional Area Transit System. Routes passing through the city include US 31 and Alabama State Route 59 . Fire protection is provided by the Bay Minette Fire Department. Emergency Medical Services are provided by MedStar. Law enforcement agency is the Bay Minette Police Department. U.S.Census . gov / quick facts County seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below
279-522: The U.S. Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.4 km), of which 8.6 square miles (22.2 km) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km), or 0.75%, is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Bay Minette has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Bay Minette
310-498: The poverty line , including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over. Bay Minette uses a mayor council government. The mayor is elected at large. The city council consists of five members who are elected from one of five districts. Bay Minette is a part of the Baldwin County Public Schools system. High schools: Middle school: Elementary school: Portions of the movie Close Encounters of
341-486: The Third Kind were filmed near the town's Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot, and Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood was filmed in rural portions of Baldwin County near Bay Minette. Bay Minette Municipal Airport (1R8) is located 3 nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Bay Minette. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines . Countywide dial-a-ride transit service
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#1732851516378372-935: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of
403-489: The average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such as the American Community Survey . This allows the calculation of per capita income for both the country as a whole and specific regions or demographic groups. However, comparing per capita income across different countries
434-484: The city of Daphne in 1868. In 1900, by an act of the legislature of Alabama, the county seat was authorized for relocation to the city of Bay Minette; however, the city of Daphne resisted relocation. The citizens of Bay Minette moved the county records from Daphne in the middle of the night on October 11–12, 1901 and delivered them to the city of Bay Minette, where the Baldwin County seat remains to this day. A mural for
465-406: The city was 60.4% White , 35.3% Black or African American , 1.0% Native American , 0.8% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , 0.8% from other races , and 1.7% from two or more races. 1.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,744 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 21.5% had
496-517: The counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of
527-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in
558-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for
589-424: The imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of
620-572: The increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan
651-611: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford
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#1732851516378682-732: The later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With
713-491: The new post office built in 1937 was commissioned by the WPA and painted by Hilton Leech to commemorate this event. In September 2011, the town attempted to enact a program called "Operation Restore Our Community". It would have allowed those convicted of a misdemeanor to substitute imprisonment with mandatory church attendance for one year. However, this program was challenged due to violating separation of church and state , and
744-575: The program's start was delayed for judicial review. It appears to have been scrapped. Bay Minette is located near the center of Baldwin County in southern Alabama. It is sited on high ground 5 miles (8 km) east of the Mobile River / Tensaw River valley and 6 miles (10 km) west of the Florida border formed by the Perdido River . U.S. Route 31 passes through the center of the city. According to
775-752: The provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized
806-764: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of
837-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of
868-607: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,
899-408: Was 35.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 32,389, and the median income for a family was $ 44,573. Males had a median income of $ 37,623 versus $ 23,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,897. About 17.1% of families and 26.4% of the population were below
930-402: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Per capita income Per capita income ( PCI ) or average income measures
961-623: Was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government