The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, Area, and Population Data, 1950-2010Most Americans give little thought to their county’s size, population, when it was created, or how its name came about. But such information can be very helpful to anyone, particularly researchers and genealogists, investigating local or state history. Drawing on information obtained from the 2010 Census, the 6th edition of The American Counties provides up-to-date data on each county’s:
This edition includes information on counties created since the previous edition was published as well as more precise “date of creation” details for many colonial counties. If a county is named for a geographical feature—river, mountain, lake, etc.—the origin of the name and the meaning of any Indian or foreign words is provided. For those counties that were named after a specific individual, a brief sketch of the person’s life is provided, including updated biographical information from previous editions. The Introduction has been expanded to address such topics as counties with similar names, persons who have more than one namesake county, the paucity of counties named for women, the practice of creating counties in uninhabited regions, and legislators naming counties for each other. At the request of many readers, the 6th edition contains new appendices ranking all counties nationally by population and area, as well as an appendix listing counties that have been eliminated. Containing information on all 3,143 counties and county equivalents (independent cities, parishes, boroughs, etc.) in the United States, the 6th edition of The American Counties is an essential resource for researchers looking for basic information on counties in the United States. |
Contents
1 | |
Counties by State | 341 |
Counties in Order of Creation | 413 |
Rank by 2010 Population | 471 |
477 | |
Eliminated Counties | 483 |
Bibliography | 489 |
About the Authors | 491 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abolished by creation Alabama Alaska Arkansas August 21 Battle brigadier California captain Charles Clark Colorado Constitutional Convention counties named County Seat county’s Creek Dakota Territory December 14 December 21 early settlers February 26 Florida Franklin French George Georgia Georgia Georgia governor Henry House of Representatives Idaho Illinois Illinois Independent City Indians Iowa Iowa Iowa Jackson James January 15 January 29 Jefferson John July 16 Kansas Kansas Kansas Lake Lincoln Louisiana Madison March 12 March 20 March 9 Marion Maryland Mexican Mexico Michigan Michigan Michigan Militia Missouri Missouri Missouri Montana Montgomery name changed February name changed January name changed March North Carolina November November 25 Ohio Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oregon organized April organized August organized February organized January organized July organized March Pennsylvania president Republic of Texas River Saint secretary Senate September South Dakota Spanish Texas Texas Texas Town Uncertain Utah Washington Wayne West Virginia William Wisconsin Wyoming York