— Ch. 1 · Origins And Colonial History —
County (United States).
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The first counties in North America emerged from the administrative needs of English colonists. Virginia created these subdivisions to ease the workload for officials in Jamestown. The House of Burgesses divided the colony into four incorporations in 1617 before establishing eight shires or counties by 1634. These early units included James City, Henrico, Charles City, and Warrosquyoake. America's oldest intact county court records exist at Eastville in what was then called Accomac County. Those documents date back to 1632. Maryland established its first county named St. Mary's in 1637. The Province of Maine founded York County in 1639. Massachusetts followed suit in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York later delegated significant power to their county governments. This delegation set a pattern for most of the United States even though counties remained relatively weak in New England. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left the matter entirely to the states. Subsequently state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state itself.
State Variations And Equivalents
Louisiana adopted local divisions called parishes that dated back to both Spanish colonial and French colonial periods. During those eras the land was dominated by the Catholic Church. New Orleans serves as a consolidated city-parish today. Alaska uses boroughs instead of counties to reflect a system with different classes varying in governmental powers. Nearly half of Alaska's land area lies outside any organized borough. This vast region is larger than France and Germany combined. It is officially referred to as the Unorganized Borough. No independent county government exists there although several incorporated cities operate within its boundaries. The majority remains governed directly by the State of Alaska. The U.S. Census Bureau divides this unorganized territory into eleven census areas for statistical purposes only. These areas have no legal basis in Alaska state or federal law other than for electoral representation. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960 leaving eight counties as mere legal entities. Regional councils of governments now handle some functions like infrastructure planning and emergency preparedness. The U.S. Census Bureau recognized these nine councils as county equivalents in 2024 after full implementation. Fourty-one independent cities exist across the United States where no county nominally exists. Baltimore, Maryland; Carson City, Nevada; and St. Louis, Missouri are examples of such cities.