Delaware
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- Kent County, Delaware was formerly known as St. Jones County.
- Sussex County, Delaware was formerly known as Deale County.
This is a list of former United States counties, a list of United States counties (administrative subunits of a U.S. state) that no longer exist.
They were established by a state, provincial, colonial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states. A county is repeated on the list if its jurisdiction changed from one state, colony, or territory to another.
This list includes (but is not limited to) counties that were renamed but retained their territorial integrity, or counties that were transferred wholesale to another state when it was separated from another state (Massachusetts counties transferred to Maine; Virginia counties transferred to Kentucky and West Virginia; and North Carolina counties transferred to Tennessee).
Alaska has never created counties. Under Section 9 of the 1912 organic act creating the Territory of Alaska, Alaska was prohibited from establishing counties without explicit approval from the U.S. Congress. The framers of the Constitution of Alaska chose to forgo consideration of a county system in favor of a system of boroughs, both organized and unorganized. In 1961, the Alaska Legislature formalized the borough structure to encompass multiple, separate organized boroughs and a single unorganized borough. Alaska currently has 18 organized boroughs. The United States Census Bureau, beginning with the 1970 United States Census, divided the Unorganized Borough into census areas. The boundaries of these census areas were largely based upon the early election districts of the state, which in turn were largely based upon the recording districts of the territory. Following is a list of former boroughs in Alaska:
Colorado Territory was formed from the lands of four organized territories: Kansas to the southeast, New Mexico to the south, Utah to the west, and Nebraska to the northeast. Before Colorado Territory was organized, all of these except Nebraska had declared county boundaries that included part of modern-day Colorado.
On March 3, 1852, the following counties were organized by Utah Territory, with boundaries reaching into what is now western Colorado:
Upon the organization of Colorado Territory in 1861, which became law on February 28, these counties ceased to have jurisdiction in Colorado.
Green River County was also created on March 3, 1852, but never organized; it was dissolved in 1857 and recreated in 1859. After losing land to Colorado Territory in 1861 and Wyoming Territory in 1868, Green River County was finally dissolved in 1872.
Beaver County was formed on January 5, 1856 from parts of Iron and Millard counties, and like other Utah counties, ceased to have jurisdiction in Colorado.
Kansas Territory's western reaches encompassed the mining centers of Aurora and Pike's Peak. Beginning with the massive Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory provided for a number of counties in what would become Colorado, but organized none of them before achieving statehood in 1861.
Arapahoe County was proclaimed August 25, 1855 but never organized; it reverted to unorganized territory when Kansas joined the Union on January 29, 1861. On February 7, 1859, several counties were split from Arapahoe County; none of them were organized, and also reverted to unorganized territory when Kansas became a state. They were:
Peketon County was created on the same day in 1859, but never organized. Like Arapahoe and its daughter counties, it reverted to unorganized territory upon Kansas achieving statehood.
No counties were organized in Nebraska Territory's portion of the future Colorado Territory.
On November 28, 1859, the Provisional General Assembly of the extralegal Territory of Jefferson established 12 counties:
Although it was never officially recognized by the federal government embroiled in the debate over slavery, the provisional government of the Territory of Jefferson held effective control of what became Colorado for a year and a half. Although the act establishing the Colorado Territory became law on February 28, 1861, the first Federal governor, William Gilpin, did not arrive in Denver until late May, and the Jefferson government disbanded itself on June 6, 1861. In November 1861, Colorado's territorial legislature would establish counties of its own, with many boundaries following those of the Jefferson counties.
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The United States Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget currently consider the District of Columbia to consist of a single county equivalent. Otherwise the District of Columbia currently has no counties or county equivalents. The former counties of the District of Columbia are:
Georgetown City and Washington City are former county equivalents. The District of Columbia comprised three county equivalents when it was consolidated in 1871: Georgetown City, Washington City, and the Remainder of the District—as they are termed in the Ninth Census of the United States (1870). There had been four county equivalents in the District prior to the retrocession of Alexandria to Virginia in 1846. In its retrospective decennial population counts the Ninth Census lists four for 1840 back to 1810, Alexandria and Washington counties alone for 1800, and none for 1790 prior to the creation of the district.
Before Illinois Territory was created in 1809, it was part of the Northwest Territory from 1788 to 1800, and Indiana Territory from 1800 to 1809. At first, two counties of the Northwest Territory were created to govern what became the modern state of Illinois, followed by two others:
Other counties were organized by the Illinois Territory from the lands of St. Clair County between 1812 and 1819 and notionally included parts of the future Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin territories in their boundaries:
Before Illinois achieved statehood in 1818, the part of Illinois Territory excluded from the new state (Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota, and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan) was transferred to Michigan Territory. No county governments were included in this transfer.
Indiana Territory was created in 1800, and had since 1788 been part of the Northwest Territory; the new territory included modern-day Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, as well at the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At first, one county of the Northwest Territory had been created to govern what became the modern state of Indiana, and three others would be included in the Indiana Territory:
Several counties were created by the government of Kansas Territory in its western reaches, which included the mining districts of Auraria and Pike's Peak. None were ever organized, and all reverted to unorganized territory when Kansas achieved statehood in 1861. See also the Colorado section, above.
Because Kentucky began as a political dependency of Virginia, its earliest counties were organized by that government. See also Virginia & Virginia Colony, below
In 1780, Kentucky County was divided by the Virginia government into three counties:
Between 1784 and 1788, six more counties would be created in Kentucky by the Virginia authorities:
These nine counties gained statehood in 1792 as the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
(Josh Bell County, Kentucky (1867–1873), originally named for Joshua Fry Bell, was called simply Bell County beginning in 1873.)
The Territory of Orleans was divided into 12 counties on 10 Apr 1805; these were reorganized into parishes on 31 Mar 1807:
The following counties of Massachusetts were organized by the 1780 constitution into the District of Maine, which became a state in 1820:
See also Massachusetts, below.
The following counties of Massachusetts were organized by the 1780 constitution into the District of Maine, which became a state in 1820:
Other counties organized by the Illinois Territory between 1809 and 1819, including Madison, Crawford, Bond, and Edwards, notionally included parts of the future Michigan and Wisconsin territories in their boundaries, but do not appear to have exercised jurisdiction north of the current state line.
The first governor of Michigan Territory, William Hull, declared a county government into existence shortly after assuming power in 1805, but on the same day, ordered that four districts be organized:
Judicial acts and militia organization took place at the district level; the vestigial county government was never organized. District government lapsed after the British occupation of Detroit and Mackinac in 1812; following the recapture of Detroit in 1813, Hull's replacement as governor (by American reckoning), Lewis Cass, abolished the district scheme. In 1815, the current Wayne County was organized; the county government traces its lineage to the 1796 county of that name.
See also List of counties in Michigan
Three Alabama counties were established in the Mississippi Territory that preceded the two states: Baldwin County, Alabama; Madison County, Alabama; Washington County, Alabama.
Seven counties were established by the State of North Carolina in its western territories following independence; the entire overmountain area (the former Washington District), was transferred to Federal jurisdiction in 1790 and formed into the Territory South of the River Ohio. The so-called Southwest Territory would achieve statehood in 1796, as Tennessee.
In 1849 most Great Basin settlers asked for admission to the Union as the State of Deseret. In 1850 Congress responded by reducing her size and organizing Utah Territory. In 1896 Utah became a state.
See Virginia & Virginia Colony, above
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation through the Northwest Ordinance, it was the nation's first post-colonial organized incorporated territory.
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the League is one of the largest membership organizations of cyclists in the United States.
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit was the territorial capital.
The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was initially chosen as the capital of the territory. In 1837, the territorial legislature met in Burlington, just north of the Skunk River on the Mississippi, which became part of the Iowa Territory in 1838. In that year, 1838, the territorial capital of Wisconsin was moved to Madison.
The territory of the United States and its overseas possessions has evolved over time, from the colonial era to the present day. It includes formally organized territories, proposed and failed states, unrecognized breakaway states, international and interstate purchases, cessions, and land grants, and historical military departments and administrative districts. The last section lists informal regions from American vernacular geography known by popular nicknames and linked by geographical, cultural, or economic similarities, some of which are still in use today.
U.S. states, districts, and territories have representative symbols that are recognized by their state legislatures, territorial legislatures, or tradition. Some, such as flags, seals, and birds have been created or chosen by all U.S. polities, while others, such as state crustaceans, state mushrooms, and state toys have been chosen by only a few.
Central Regional Dental Testing Service (CRDTS) is one of five examination agencies for dentists in the United States. The other examination agencies are, West Regional Examining Board, Northeast Regional Board of Dental Examiners, Southern Regional Testing Agency, and Council of Interstate Testing Agencies. These were organized to standardize clinical exams for licensure.
The following is a set–index article, providing a list of lists, for the cities, towns and villages within the jurisdictional United States. It is divided, alphabetically, according to the state, territory, or district name in which they are located.
The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended the major war known by Americans as the French and Indian War and by Canadians as the Seven Years' War / Guerre de Sept Ans, or by French-Canadians, La Guerre de la Conquête. It was signed by Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. Preferring to keep Guadeloupe, France gave up Canada and all of its claims to territory east of the Mississippi River to Britain. With France out of North America this dramatically changed the European political scene on the continent.
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