Editing Newport, Kentucky (section)

===County seat===
Newport is a county seat of [[Campbell County, Kentucky|Campbell County]], and was previously a county seat from 1797 until 1823, and again from 1824 until 1840.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kycampbe/courthouses.htm|title=Alexandria and Newport Courthouses|website=rootsweb.ancestry.com}}</ref>
In the 19th century, the overwhelming majority of the population lived in Newport and the surrounding cities. Many citizens did not like traveling south to [[Alexandria, Kentucky|Alexandria]] to conduct county business, as southern Campbell County was primarily undeveloped.

In 1883, Newport successfully lobbied the state legislature for an exception to state law, which both required that a county seat be located in the center of the county, and that certain county business only be conducted at the county seat. Frankfort passed a special law, creating the Newport Court House District, and within that district, the Newport Courthouse Commission which functioned as a special taxing district, so that an additional courthouse could be built, and business could take place in Newport, in addition to Alexandria. In 2008, the Kentucky General Assembly removed the taxing authority from the Courthouse Commission, but left the District and Commission intact.

[[File:Daniel Carter Beard Bridge.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Daniel Carter Beard Bridge]] is more commonly called the "[[Big Mac]]" bridge because of its resemblance to [[McDonald's]] iconic arches.]]
In 2009, a court ruled that Alexandria is the only county seat, and Newport is not a county seat.<ref>[http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/C2/20090512/NEWS/905120380/-1/recorder/Judge++Alexandria+the+only+county+seat Judge: Alexandria the only county seat], ''[[The Kentucky Enquirer]]'', 2009-05-12.  Accessed 2009-05-28.</ref> On November 24, 2010, the Kentucky Court of Appeals disagreed, and granted Newport equal status as a county seat.<ref name="Nolan v. Campbell">[http://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/court-of-appeals/2010/2009-ca-001507.html Nolan v. Campbell County Fiscal Court] Kentucky Court of Appeals. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2015.</ref> On August 25, 2011, the Supreme Court of Kentucky denied review of the appellate decision.<ref name=SCOKY20110825>[https://dspace.kdla.ky.gov/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10602/11596/MNT08252011.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y SUPREME COURT OF KENTUCKY AUGUST 25, 2011 MINUTES] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424001442/https://dspace.kdla.ky.gov/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10602/11596/MNT08252011.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |date=April 24, 2017 }} Supreme Court of Kentucky. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2017.</ref>