104-551: Grant County is the most southwestern county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin . As of the 2020 census , the population was 51,938. Its county seat is Lancaster and its largest city is Platteville . The county is named after the Grant River , in turn named after a fur trader who lived in the area when Wisconsin was a territory . Grant County comprises the Platteville Micropolitan Statistical Area. It
208-633: A Wisconsin Department of Corrections prison for men, is located in Boscobel in Grant County. Grant County has been a reliably Republican county at the federal level for most of its existence. In 2024, Republican Donald Trump won the highest percentage of the vote in the county since 1984. It had voted for the Democratic candidate for president six elections in a row, starting in 1992, before shifting back to
312-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
416-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
520-704: A New England Yankee who passed through what is now Grant County in 1766 during an attempt to discover the Pacific Ocean. In 1783, the British government acknowledged the jurisdiction of the United States over the land east of the Mississippi River, including what is now Grant County. American and European traders visiting the region over the next decades were yet as nomadic as the Indians, and no records survive. Grant County
624-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
728-460: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
832-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
936-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
1040-553: A majority emigrating to the Western urban areas and Hawaii. This increase and diversification in the Oceanian emigration was especially true in the 1950s. In 1950, the population of Guam gained full American citizenship. In 1952, the natives of American Samoa become American nationals, although not American citizens, through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 . Shortly thereafter,
1144-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
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#17328766286411248-703: A scant 0.02% of the US population. Tongan communities are also more common in the West Coast, such as San Mateo County , some areas of the South Bay of Los Angeles, and the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area of Washington. Portland, Oregon is also home to a Tongan community that started to emigrate in the 1970s. The Dallas , Texas suburb of Euless also has a Tongan population in the low thousands. Based on 2003 recruiting data, Pacific Islander Americans were 249% over-represented in
1352-524: A tavern remains, selling ribs. 42°52′N 90°43′W / 42.86°N 90.71°W / 42.86; -90.71 County (United States) In the United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county "
1456-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
1560-564: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
1664-516: Is a notable Native Hawaiian presence in Las Vegas . The city is sometimes called the "Ninth Island" in reference to the eight islands of Hawaii. A Samoan American is an American who is of ethnic Samoan descent from either the independent nation Samoa or the American territory of American Samoa. Samoan American is a subcategory of Polynesian American. About 55,000 people live on American Samoa, while
1768-550: Is an American who is of ethnic Tongan descent. Utah has the largest Tongan American population, followed by Hawaii. Many of the first Tongan Americans came to the United States in connection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . They have strong presence in parts of Salt Lake Valley in Utah, especially West Valley City and Salt Lake City. Utah is roughly one percent Tongan, a high rate compared to Tongans only making up less than
1872-514: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Pacific Islander Americans Pacific Islander Americans (also colloquially referred to as Islander Americans ) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of
1976-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
2080-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
2184-454: Is in the tri-state area of Wisconsin, Illinois , and Iowa , and is crossed by travelers commuting to Madison, Wisconsin , from a number of eastern Iowan cities, and by residents of northern Illinois traveling to the Twin Cities or La Crosse, Wisconsin . What is now Grant County was largely uninhabited prior to contact with Europeans, as it was a border region between the territories of
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#17328766286412288-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
2392-766: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
2496-408: Is now Grant County were Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet , who explored the region in the spring of 1673, after setting out from what would later become Green Bay. No permanent settlement was made. In 1680 Louis Hennepin also passed through the region that would later become Grant County, also making no permanent settlement. In 1689 Nicholas Perrot passed through the territory and claimed it for
2600-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
2704-557: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
2808-548: Is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other). For this reason, Samoans can move to Hawaii or the mainland US and obtain citizenship comparatively easily. Like Native Hawaiians, Samoans arrived in the mainland in the 20th century as agricultural laborers and factory workers. Elsewhere in the US, Samoan Americans are plentiful throughout the state of Utah, as well as in Killeen, Texas ; Norfolk, Virginia ; and Independence, Missouri . A Tongan American
2912-501: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
3016-537: Is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
3120-482: Is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as a matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City
3224-634: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
Grant County, Wisconsin - Misplaced Pages Continue
3328-454: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
3432-472: The Indigenous peoples of Oceania ). For its purposes, the United States census also counts Aboriginal Australians as part of this group. Pacific Islander Americans make up 0.5% of the US population including those with partial Pacific Islander ancestry, enumerating about 1.4 million people. The largest ethnic subgroups of Pacific Islander Americans are Native Hawaiians , Samoans , and Chamorros . Much of
3536-597: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
3640-552: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
3744-559: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
3848-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
3952-569: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
4056-671: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
4160-466: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
4264-473: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
Grant County, Wisconsin - Misplaced Pages Continue
4368-403: The 1990s, settling mostly in western cities such as Los Angeles , San Francisco, Seattle , or Salt Lake City. In the 2000 US census , almost all the countries of Oceania were mentioned, although only the ethnic groups mentioned in the article consisted of thousands of people. In the 2000s and 2010s, several thousands more Pacific Islanders emigrated to the US. In the 2000 and 2010 censuses ,
4472-1179: The 2000 and 2008 US censuses have found four times the number of Samoan Americans live in the mainland US. California has the most Samoans; concentrations live in the San Francisco Bay Area , Los Angeles County , and San Diego County . San Francisco has approximately 2,000 people of Samoan ancestry, and other Bay Area cities such as East Palo Alto and Daly City have Samoan communities. In Los Angeles County, Long Beach and Carson have abundant Samoan communities, as well as in Oceanside in San Diego County. Other West Coast metropolitan areas such as Seattle have strong Samoan communities, mainly in King County and in Tacoma . Anchorage , Alaska , and Honolulu , Hawaii, both have thousands of Samoan Americans residing in each city. Persons born in American Samoa are US nationals, but not US citizens (this
4576-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
4680-454: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
4784-923: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
4888-454: The GOP in 2016. Fair play was founded by a prospector, rather than a farmer or logger, and within two years the prospector found ore, the settlement was built on the corner of Hwy 11 and Sandy Hook Road, the place was rather rowdy and fights based in greed was not uncommon, the place got it's moniker when a violent fight broke out and one contender did not carry weapon, but the other man did, and thus
4992-551: The Hawaiian migration to the continental US began to increase. In the 1960s, many more Pacific Islanders emigrated to the US, mainly due to increased migration from Guam, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa archipelago (both independent and American Samoa ). The Pacific Islanders migrated by diverse reasons: Many Guamanians fled the Korean War and Typhoon Karen , and the Fijian population living in
5096-666: The Honolulu's American bases when American Samoa began to be administered by the US Department of the Interior , as well as their relatives. Most of the new Pacific Islander immigrants were Mormons and many islanders from the region emigrated to the US seeking economic opportunities. In 1959, Hawaii became a state and its natives got US citizenship. This made more than 630,000 people Americans; many of them were Pacific Islanders, both Native Hawaiians and people of other Oceanian origins. Thus,
5200-534: The Kickapoo, Menominee, and Illinois tribes. The only Native Americans to have a permanent settlement in the area were the Meskwaki people, who had a temporary village in what is now the extreme northeast of the county during the mid-1700s. Between 1520 and 1620 this area was nominally ruled by Spain, although the lack of explorers left the region completely untouched by Spanish authority. The first Frenchmen to reach what
5304-566: The King of France. The first settlement was a temporary trading post that Pierre Marin founded in 1725. The British technically ruled the region during the period between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution , though no effort was made to settle or administer the region. After the abandonment of Marin's trading post, the region went unvisited until the expedition of Jonathan Carver ,
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#17328766286415408-547: The Pacific Islander population resides in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Utah, and Texas. Pacific Islanders may be considered Oceanian Americans , but this group may include Australians and New Zealander-origin people, who can be of non-Pacific Islander ethnicity. Many Pacific Islander Americans are mixed with other races, especially Europeans and Asians, due to Pacific Islanders being a small population in several communities across
5512-644: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
5616-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
5720-475: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
5824-683: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
5928-478: The US is from 1910, with the first Guamanians living in the US. In the following decades small groups of people from islands such as Hawaii, Guam, Tonga, or American Samoa emigrated to the US. Many of them were Mormons (including most of Tongans and American Samoans), who emigrated to help build Mormon churches, or to seek an education, either in Laie or Salt Lake City . However, the emigration of Pacific Islanders to
6032-590: The US settled in the Astoria colony (in present-day Oregon ) in 1811, having been brought there by its founder, fur merchant John Jacob Astor . Astor created the Pacific Fur Company in the colony and used the Native Hawaiians to build the city's infrastructure and houses and to develop the primary sector (agriculture, hunting and fishing). The labor employment of the Native Hawaiians was done to make them serve
6136-605: The US skyrocketed from a few dozen people in the 1950s to more than 400 people. The Pacific Islander migration increased especially since 1965, when the United States government facilitated the non-European migration to the US. Many of them were recruited to pick fruit in California. During the 1970s, over nine thousand Pacific Islanders migrated to the US, mostly from Samoa (both Western and American ), Guam, Tonga, and Fiji, but also from other islands such as Federated States of Micronesia or Palau. Many of these people emigrated to
6240-646: The US to study at its universities. Moreover, in the 1980s, migration from the Pacific Islands to the United States became more diversified when this country acquired the Northern Marianas Islands in 1986 and signed an agreement with TTPI (FSM, Palau and the Marshall Islands ) called the Compact of Free Association . The Compact of Free Association allows the inhabitants from TTPI to travel and work in
6344-468: The US was small until the end of World War II , when many American Samoans, Guamanians (who got the American citizenship in 1929), and Tongans emigrated to the US. Most of them were in the military or married with military people, but some Pacific Islanders, particularly Tongans, looked for a job in several religious and cultural centers. Since then the emigration increased and diversified every decade, with
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#17328766286416448-539: The US whose origins are in the Federated States of Micronesia. Most of them live in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Texas, as well as in Mariana Islands. Another 7,000 Americans are of Palauan descent. According to the 2010 census, the largest Chamorro populations were located in California, Washington, and Texas, but their combined number from these three states totaled less than half the number living throughout
6552-563: The US without visas. On the other hand, the Tyson Foods company, which employed a significant part of the population of the Marshall Islands, relocated many of its Marshellese employees in Springdale, Arkansas , where the company is based. However, most of Pacific Islanders continued to migrate to western urban areas and Hawaii. More of five thousand Pacific Islanders migrated to the US in
6656-797: The US), as well as the migration and high birth rate of the Pacific Islanders have favored the permanence and increase of this population in the US (especially in the number of people who are of partial Pacific Islander descent). In the 2000 census, over 800,000 people claimed to be of Pacific Islander descent and in the 2010 census 1,225,195 Americans claimed "'Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander'" as their race alone or in combination. Most of them live in urban areas of Hawaii and California, but they also have sizeable populations in Washington , Utah , Nevada , Oregon, Texas , Florida , Arizona , and New York . On
6760-551: The US. It also revealed that the Chamorro people are the most geographically dispersed Oceanian ethnicity in the country. Marshallese Americans come from the Marshall Islands . In the 2010 census, 22,434 Americans identified as being of Marshallese descent. Due to the Marshall Islands entering the Compact of Free Association in 1986, Marshallese have been allowed to migrate and work in the US. There are many reasons why Marshallese came to
6864-494: The US. Most of them live in California. Smaller communities of New Caledonian , Papuan , Vanuatuan , and Solomon Islander origin also live in the US. Micronesian Americans are Americans of Micronesian descent. They come from the whole region, mainly from the Mariana Islands, but also from territories as the Marshall Islands , the Federated States of Micronesia or Palau . There are more than 8,000 people living in
6968-466: The US. Some Marshallese came for educational opportunities, particularly for their children. Others sought work or better health care than what is available in the islands. Massive layoffs by the Marshallese government in 2000 led to a second big wave of immigration. Arkansas has the largest Marshallese population with over 6,000 residents. Many live in Springdale , and the Marshallese constitute over 5% of
7072-484: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
7176-411: The United States to study theology. Since the 1830s, another group of Native Hawaiians arrived on California's shores, where they were traders and formed communities. So, they made up 10% of the population of Yerba Buena , now San Francisco , in 1847. During the California gold rush , many other Native Hawaiians migrated to California to work as miners. In 1889, the first Polynesian Mormon colony
7280-428: The United States until the late 19th century. The first Native Hawaiians to live in the present-day US were fur traders. They were hired by British fur traders in Hawaii and taken to the Northwestern US , from where trade networks developed with Honolulu. However, they charged less than Americans for doing the same jobs and returned to Hawaii when their contracts ended. The first Native Hawaiians to live permanently in
7384-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
7488-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
7592-463: The city's population. Other significant Marshallese populations include Spokane and Costa Mesa . Smaller communities of I-Kiribati and Nauruan origins also live in the US. Polynesian Americans are Americans of Polynesian descent. Large subcategories of Polynesian Americans include Native Hawaiians and Samoan Americans. In addition there are smaller communities of Tongan Americans , French Polynesian Americans , and Māori Americans . There
7696-826: The company (although later, most of them worked for North West Company when this company absorbed the Pacific Fur Company in 1813). After 1813, Native Hawaiians continued to migrate to the Pacific Northwest . They migrated to work in companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company (which absorbed the North West Company in 1821) and the Columbia Fishing and Trading Company, as well as in Christian missions. Since 1819, some groups of Polynesian Protestant students immigrated to
7800-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
7904-457: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
8008-462: The crowd started chanting 'Fair Play! Fair Play! Fair Play!' until the fight ended, and thus the village formerly known as 'Hard Town' was redubbed as 'Fair Play', in 1846, the last threatened duel took place and afterwards the settlement was abandoned. Paris was a settlement 1/8th of a mile South of 'Dickeyville' near Hwy 151/61 between 1838 and 1843, a small settlement built on the Platte River,
8112-405: The first major waves of migration from American Samoa and Guam emerged, while other groups of places such as French Polynesia , Palau , or Fiji began to emigrate. Over 5,100 Pacific Islanders emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, mostly from American Samoa, Guam, and Tonga. The first of them were Samoan military personnel, who had worked at the American bases of Pago Pago but moved to
8216-440: The founder had malaria and he named the place after his homelands capital, Paris, (France), he built a bridge across the river that proved the counties first one made, the founder, Detantabaritz, had started experiencing financial issues, and he ended up facing a creditor, choosing swords as dueling weapons as he was himself a Dragoon, the creditor backed down, and later the founder took his own life due to debt anxieties, and now only
8320-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
8424-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
8528-622: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
8632-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
8736-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
8840-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
8944-472: The mainland US. American Samoa , Guam , and the Northern Mariana Islands are insular areas ( US territories ), while Hawaii is a state . Migration from Oceania to the United States began in the last decade of the 18th century, but the first migrants to arrive in the country were Native Hawaiians . People from other Oceanian backgrounds (except Australians and Māori) did not migrate to
9048-674: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
9152-633: The military. American Samoans are distinguished among the wider Pacific Islander group for enthusiasm for enlistment. In 2007, a Chicago Tribune reporter covering the island's military service noted, "American Samoa is one of the few places in the nation where military recruiters not only meet their enlistment quotas but soundly exceed them." As of March 23, 2009 , there have been 10 American Samoans who have died in Iraq , and 2 who have died in Afghanistan . Pacific Islander Americans are also represented in
9256-514: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
9360-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
9464-403: The other hand, Pacific Islander Americans represent the majority (or are the main ethnic group) in American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands , from where many of them are natives. Melanesian Americans are Americans of Melanesian descent. Most of them are of Fijian descent . Most Fijian Americans are of Fijian and Indian descent. More than 32,000 people of Fijian origin live in
9568-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
9672-482: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 52.0% were of German , 9.2% English , 8.8% Irish , 6.6% American and 6.4% Norwegian ancestry. There were 18,465 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who
9776-529: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
9880-541: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
9984-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
10088-455: The term "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Marshalls or other Pacific Islands. Most Pacific Islander Americans are of Native Hawaiian, Samoan , and Chamorro origin. The fact that Hawaii is a US state (meaning that almost the entire native Hawaiian population lives in
10192-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
10296-550: Was 2.4% Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000 , there were 49,597 people, 18,465 households, and 12,390 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile (17 people/km). There were 19,940 housing units at an average density of 17 units per square mile (6.6 units/km). The racial makeup of the county was 98.23% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.14% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. 0.56% of
10400-402: Was 51,938. The population density was 45.3 people per square mile (17.5 people/km). There were 22,110 housing units at an average density of 19.3 units per square mile (7.5 units/km). The racial makeup of the county was 93.8% White , 1.3% Black or African American , 0.8% Asian , 0.2% Native American , 1.0% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population
10504-552: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 14.60% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 103.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males. The Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (WSPF),
10608-457: Was created as part of Wisconsin Territory in 1837. It was named after an Indian trader; his first name, origins, and eventual fate are all unknown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,183 square miles (3,060 km), of which 1,147 square miles (2,970 km) is land and 36 square miles (93 km) (3.1%) is water. As of the census of 2020 , the population
10712-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
10816-428: Was founded in Utah and consisted of Native Hawaiians, Tahitians, Samoans, and Māori. Also in the late 19th century, small groups of Pacific Islanders, usually sailors, moved to the western shores, mainly on San Francisco. Later, the US occupied Hawaii in 1896, Guam in 1898, and American Samoa in 1900. This fact diversified Oceanian emigration in the US. However, the first record of non-Hawaiian Pacific Islanders in
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