Editing Shire (section)

==Shires in the United States==
===New York and New England===
Before the [[Province of New York]] was granted county subdivisions and a greater royal presence in 1683, the early ducal colony consisted of [[Yorkshire County, New York|York Shire]], as well as [[Albany County, New York|Albany]] and [[Ulster County, New York|Ulster]], after the three titles held by [[James II of England|Prince James]]: [[Duke of York]], [[Duke of Albany]], [[Earl of Ulster]]. While these were basically renamed Dutch core settlements, they were quickly converted to English purposes, while the Dutch remained within the colony, as opposed to later practice of the [[Acadian Expulsion]]. Further Anglo-Dutch synthesis occurred when Prince James enacted the [[Dominion of New England]] and later when [[William III of England]] took over through the [[Glorious Revolution]].

The word also survives in the name of the [[U.S. state|state]] of [[New Hampshire]], whose co-founder, [[John Mason (governor)|John Mason]], named his [[Province of New Hampshire]] after the English county of [[Hampshire]].

Vermont has 14 counties – each has one county seat or Shire, except the [https://exploretheshires.com/ Shire Towns of Southwestern Vermont] where there is a South Shire – Bennington and a North Shire – Manchester.

===Virginia===
In 1634, eight "shires" were created in the [[Virginia Colony]] by order of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], King of England. They were renamed as [[County (United States)|counties]] only a few years later. They were:

* [[Accomac Shire]] (since 1642 [[Northampton County, Virginia]])
* [[Charles City Shire]] (since 1637 [[Charles City County, Virginia]])
* [[Charles River Shire]] (since 1643 [[York County, Virginia]])
* [[Elizabeth City Shire]] (became [[Elizabeth City County, Virginia]] in 1643)
* [[Henrico Shire]] (later became [[Henrico County, Virginia]])
* [[James City Shire]] (about 1642-43 [[James City County, Virginia]])
* [[Warwick River Shire]] (became consolidated with the City of [[Newport News, Virginia]])
* [[Warrosquyoake Shire]] (became [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia]])

Today, the concept of a "Shire" still exists in Virginia code. It is defined as a semi-autonomous subdivision of a consolidated City-County. Currently no Shires exist in the commonwealth and the administrative provision is largely unknown.<ref>{{Cite web|title=§ 15.2-3534. Optional provisions of consolidation agreement|url=https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title15.2/chapter35/section15.2-3534/|access-date=2021-10-05|website=law.lis.virginia.gov}}</ref>