Editing County (United States) (section)

==History==
The idea of counties originated with the [[counties of England]]. [[Kingdom of England|English]] (after 1707, [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]]) colonists brought to their colonies in [[North America]] a political subdivision that they already used in the British [[metropole]]: the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of [[Local government in the United States|local government]] established in the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that would become the United States. [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]]. The [[House of Burgesses]] divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into [[Shires of Virginia|eight shires]] (or counties) in 1634: [[James City Shire|James City]], [[Henrico Shire|Henrico]], [[Charles City Shire|Charles City]], [[Charles River Shire|Charles River]], [[Warrosquyoake Shire|Warrosquyoake]], [[Accomac Shire|Accomac]], [[Elizabeth City Shire|Elizabeth City]], and [[Warwick River Shire|Warwick River]].<ref name="Virginia">{{cite book |last = Harch |first = Charles E. |title = The First Seventeen Years, Virginia, 1607–1624 |publisher = Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical |year = 1957 |pages = 20, 75–76 |url = http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacount/howstart.html }}</ref> America's oldest intact county court records can be found at [[Eastville, Virginia]], in [[Northampton County, Virginia|Northampton (originally Accomac) County]], dating to 1632.<ref name="Eastville">{{cite web|url = https://www.co.northampton.va.us/visitors/tourism/free_things_to_see_and_do/free_history_lessons/historic_court_green_eastville| website= Northampton County, Virginia|title =Historic Court East Greenville}}</ref> [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]] established its first county, [[St. Mary's County, Maryland|St. Mary's]] in 1637.  In 1639, the [[Province of Maine]] founded [[York County, Maine|York County]].  [[Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts]] followed in 1643. [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] and [[Province of New York|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]].<ref name= "Reynolds">{{cite book | first = Osborne M. Jr. |last = Reynolds |title = Local Government Law |edition = 3rd |location = St. Paul |publisher = West |year = 2009 |page = 19 }}</ref>

When [[Independence Day (United States)|independence]] came, the [[framers of the Constitution]] left the matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state.<ref name="naco"/> Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called ''[[Parish (administrative division)|parishes]]'' that dated back to both the [[Louisiana (New Spain)|Spanish colonial]] and [[Louisiana (New France)|French colonial periods]] when the land was dominated by the [[Catholic Church]].<ref name="Bryansite">{{cite web |last=Tabor |first=B. |title=Louisiana parishes |url=http://www.bryansite.com/countyLA.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020075822/http://www.bryansite.com/countyLA.htm |archive-date=Oct 20, 2022 |website=Bryansite}}</ref> In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring [[Home rule in the United States|home rule]] and [[county commission]]s to pass [[local ordinance]]s pertaining to their [[unincorporated area]]s.<ref name="naco">{{cite web |title = Learn About What Counties Do |url = http://www.naco.org/counties/learn-about-what-counties-do |work = National Association of Counties |access-date = November 20, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151122091339/http://www.naco.org/counties/learn-about-what-counties-do |archive-date = November 22, 2015 |url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1955, delegates to 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|title=Local Government|work=Alaska Humanities Forum|access-date=November 4, 2021|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105013431/https://www.akhistorycourse.org/governing-alaska/local-government/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' [[minor civil division|smaller divisions]] usually called [[Civil township|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 the United States is the city and county of [[Broomfield, Colorado]], established in 2001 as a [[consolidated city-county]], previously part of four counties.<ref name="Broomfield's 50 year history">{{cite web |url = http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/ci_19610648 |title = Broomfield 50th anniversary: Success in first 50 years stemmed from bold actions |last = Rubino |first = Joe |date = December 24, 2011 |work = Broomfield Enterprise |access-date = July 13, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Broomfield's History">{{cite web |url = http://www.broomfield.org/history/ |title = Broomfield History |publisher = City and County of Broomfield |access-date = July 13, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120329042558/http://www.broomfield.org/history/ |archive-date = March 29, 2012 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of [[Chugach Census Area, Alaska|Chugach]] and [[Copper River Census Area, Alaska|Copper River]], both established in 2019,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Changes to Counties and County Equivalent Entities: 1970-Present |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/technical-documentation/county-changes.2010.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319091356/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/technical-documentation/county-changes.2010.html |archive-date=Mar 19, 2021 |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=The United States Census Bureau |language=EN-US}}</ref> and the Alaskan boroughs of [[Petersburg Borough, Alaska|Petersburg]] established in 2013, [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]] established in 2008, and [[Skagway, Alaska|Skagway]] established in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/01/03/petersburg-becomes-19th-borough-in-alaska |title = Petersburg Becomes 19th Borough In Alaska |first = Joe |last = Viechnicki |publisher = Alaska Public Media |date = January 3, 2013 }}</ref>