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Virginia has four independent cities (which unlike in most states, are separate from counties) with the same names as counties in the state. Two of these, Fairfax and Roanoke, are surrounded by the counties of the same name. The other two, Richmond and Franklin, are far removed from their identically named county.
True, and only to clarify, every single city in Virginia is an independent city and not just these four mentioned, but 38 (pdf). There's also this strange thing that happened with several of the oldest localities originally formed under the British Crown as "shires" - Charles Cittie Shire, James Cittie Shire, and Elizabeth Cittie Shire. Eventually they became counties instead of shires, and even though they were never cities they still have "city" in their official names, which is pretty confusing, e.g., Charles City County and James City County. Elizabeth City County became the independent city of Hampton, VA in 1952.
I'm not sure if this is something that happens frequently in other states, but because of the weird independent city setup in VA, a number of counties maintain their county seat of government in a completely separate but often neighboring jurisdiction. For example, until fairly recently, Richmond City retained the county seat of neighboring Henrico County. You can still visit the old Henrico County Courthouse which is in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom neighborhood. Eventually, Henrico outgrew the Edwardian courthouse, considered building another in Richmond, but found it strange that county residents would have to cross over into Richmond for business, so the new courthouse was built firmly in the county instead. The independent city of Charlottesville is still the county seat for Albemarle County, VA and the independent city of Williamsburg is the county seat for James City County. In that case, they two actually share a courthouse even though they're completely separate municipalities. There are many more examples of this.
At 2.11 square miles, Falls Church City, VA is the smallest incorporated municipality in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the smallest county-equivalent municipality in the United States. However, it has a population of over 14,000.
even though they were never cities they still have "city" in their official names, which is pretty confusing, e.g., Charles City County and James City County. Elizabeth City County became the independent city of Hampton, VA in 1952.
At least there isn't a James City, VA, though there is a Jamesville and obviously a Jamestown (though that's defunct).
Another quirk of Virginia (and also thus WV) that I haven't seen elsewhere is that county magisterial districts sometimes have names; everywhere else just numbers theirs. Named districts are common in the Commonwealth, as with Canada's named parliamentary ridings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aquest1
I'm not sure if this is something that happens frequently in other states, but because of the weird independent city setup in VA, a number of counties maintain their county seat of government in a completely separate but often neighboring jurisdiction.
I'm not aware of instances elsewhere, except for unorganized areas like rural Vermont gores.
It also means that Fairfax County's courthouse sits in an enclave within Fairfax City, and Prince William County's in an enclave within Manassas City. This seems like a recipe for law enforcement confusion, but in real life it's unlikely since the enclaves are courthouses that are well-patrolled by the county sheriffs. Only one other county enclave has been mentioned in this thread, due to Denver's status as a consolidated city-county (roughly equivalent to a Virginia independent city) and somewhat messy annexation history. Wikipedia notes other county enclaves in Broomfield and Boulder counties, Colorado (Broomfield also being a somewhat recent consolidated city-county); Haines and Unorganized boroughs, Alaska, and Bibb and Monroe counties, Georgia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by manitopiaaa
I've always thought Fairfax County should amalgamate into a city. It's not like there are any city governments within that would be opposed.
The idea of incorporating the county as an independent city (Hampton Roads style) been floated a few times (e.g., in 2009), mostly since the county would then have more taxation authority and power over its roads. (Arlington has an exception that allows it, not VDOT, to control most roads.) I'm not aware of any past discussions to merge Fairfax City and County, which would seem to obviate another problem with incorporating Fairfax County -- the name.
The Connecticut panhandle is part of New England, but it's closer to Philly than to Boston.
That doesn't really surprise me, but looking at that Connecticut Panhandle, one thing that catches my attention is that if that panhandle was just 11 miles longer, New York City would be cut off from the rest of New York State. Those are some really weird state lines going on there. I guess I'll have to go back and re-watch some episodes of How the States Got Their Shapes, to figure out how that happened.
Those are some really weird state lines going on there. I guess I'll have to go back and re-watch some episodes of How the States Got Their Shapes, to figure out how that happened.
"The irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 17th century, culminating with New York giving up its claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut. In exchange, New York received an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut, to the Massachusetts border, as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.
The two British colonies negotiated an agreement on November 28, 1683, establishing the New York–Connecticut border as 20 miles (32 km) east of the Hudson River, north to Massachusetts. The 61,660 acres (249.5 km2) east of the Byram River making up the Connecticut panhandle were granted to Connecticut, in recognition of the wishes of the residents. In exchange, Rye was granted to New York, along with a 1.81-mile (2.91 km) wide strip of land known as the "Oblong" running north from Ridgefield to Massachusetts, alongside the New York counties of Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess"
"The irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 17th century, culminating with New York giving up its claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut. In exchange, New York received an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut, to the Massachusetts border, as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.
The two British colonies negotiated an agreement on November 28, 1683, establishing the New York–Connecticut border as 20 miles (32 km) east of the Hudson River, north to Massachusetts. The 61,660 acres (249.5 km2) east of the Byram River making up the Connecticut panhandle were granted to Connecticut, in recognition of the wishes of the residents. In exchange, Rye was granted to New York, along with a 1.81-mile (2.91 km) wide strip of land known as the "Oblong" running north from Ridgefield to Massachusetts, alongside the New York counties of Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess"
That doesn't really surprise me, but looking at that Connecticut Panhandle, one thing that catches my attention is that if that panhandle was just 11 miles longer, New York City would be cut off from the rest of New York State. Those are some really weird state lines going on there. I guess I'll have to go back and re-watch some episodes of How the States Got Their Shapes, to figure out how that happened.
At one point, Connecticut's western claims went all the way to the Mississippi River!
Having grown up in NEPA (Northeastern PA) we learned about the Pennamite–Yankee War and how there was a dispute between Connecticut (Yankees) and Pennsylvania (Pennamites) over what is now Northern PA back in the 1600s and 1700s.
Yes. In fact, Greenwich, CT is closer to Elkton, Maryland than it is to Boston.
Houlton, ME is part of New England, but it's closer to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island than it is to Boston.
Another oddity in Greenwich, CT is I-684, which dips into CT for just over a mile and has no exits in CT.
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