A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is in use in five countries: Canada , China , Hungary , Romania , and the United States . An equivalent term, shire town , is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions, such as Venezuela .
31-467: Ekalaka is a town in and the county seat of Carter County , Montana , United States. The population was 399 at the 2020 census . Ekalaka was named after a Sioux girl, Ijkalaka , who was the wife of David Harrison Russell, a scout. Ijkalaka (Restless or Moving About) was an Oglala Lakota and the daughter of Wombalee We-chosh (Eagle Man). She was born in 1858 on the Powder River, while she
62-531: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending
93-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in
124-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of
155-647: Is part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail and is home to the Carter County Museum , which is known for its dinosaur collection. The prehistoric bird Magnusavis ekalakaensis was named after the town. Ekalaka Public Library serves the town. Ekalaka Public Schools educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. There is the Ekalaka Elementary District and Carter County High School . They are known as
186-431: The 2010 census, there were 332 people, 176 households and 87 families residing in the town. The population density was 319.2 inhabitants per square mile (123.2/km). There were 266 housing units at an average density of 255.8 per square mile (98.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 96.4% White , 1.2% Native American , 0.3% from other races , and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of
217-576: The Bulldogs. The Ekalaka Eagle is the official newspaper of Carter County. It is published weekly both in print and online. Ekalaka is the southern start of Montana Highway 7 and the northern end of Montana Secondary Highway 323 . Ekalaka Airport is a public use airport located 2 miles southeast of town. County seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below
248-771: The Dinosaur Field Station in Malta, Montana and the trail was officially launched via the efforts of the tourism groups of: Custer Country, Missouri River Country, Russell Country and Yellowstone Country; two state agencies: Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Travel Montana; and two federal agencies: the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management . The Dinosaur Trail opened in May 2005 and drew more than 196,000 visitors its first year. Since its opening,
279-947: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of
310-531: The age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 42.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.73. 21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 2.4% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 30.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
341-579: The central and eastern regions of the state of Montana in the United States of America . The trail, a plan to increase attendance at the region's museums and drive tourism in general, was established via the work of a number of museums as well as community and state officials. The idea for a trail uniting the museums and promoting tourism in eastern Montana came from a meeting of the Missouri River Country board of directors at
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#1732794513901372-526: The counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of
403-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in
434-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for
465-424: The imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of
496-585: The increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan
527-625: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford
558-758: The later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With
589-596: The local freight line (team and horses), and other added to it. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 1.04 square miles (2.69 km), all land. The area is known for its sandstone rock and open plains. Nearby is the Custer National Forest . Russell Creek flows through town. Ekalaka experiences a dry continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers. At
620-437: The population. There were 176 households, of which 17.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.6% were non-families. 45.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
651-775: The provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized
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#1732794513901682-777: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of
713-407: The town. The population density was 391.5 inhabitants per square mile (151.2/km). There were 287 housing units at an average density of 274.1 per square mile (105.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 99.02% White , 0.49% Native American , and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population. There were 195 households, of which 21.5% had children under
744-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of
775-542: The trail facilities have hosted between 236,000 and 302,000 visitors each year. Promotion of the Trail includes a "Prehistoric Passport " on which visitors collect dinosaur icon stamps from each museum they visit. In addition to the participating museums, the trail has helped increase visitors to other small businesses along the route. The fourteen organizations that make up the Montana Dinosaur Trail are
806-544: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,
837-410: Was 1.82 and the average family size was 2.52. The median age was 54 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.3% were from 25 to 44; 34.2% were from 45 to 64; and 31.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.0% male and 53.0% female. At the 2000 census , there were 410 people, 195 households and 109 families residing in
868-461: Was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males. The median household income was $ 19,432 and the median family income was $ 27,750. Males had a median income of $ 22,656 and females $ 18,125. The per capita income $ 13,667. About 7.1% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over. Ekalaka
899-501: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Montana Dinosaur Trail The Montana Dinosaur Trail is a series of fourteen dinosaur -themed museums , state parks and other attractions in twelve communities located in
930-573: Was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government
961-560: Was living with a cousin, Hi Kelly, at a ranch on Chugwater Creek, near Laramie, Wyoming. She was 16 when she met Russell, who was a scout and frontiersman. The town was created by Russell on the edge of his ranch. A man named Carter bogged down in mud the spring of 1885 opened a saloon and is credited with saying "Anyplace in Montana is a good place to open a saloon". The site became a trade center for cattle ranchers and sheepherders. He put up houses to house freight workers and hunters who ran