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119-465: Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas . The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River . The community developed around the fort in early days. The county seat is Richmond . The largest city located entirely within the county borders is Sugar Land . The largest city by population in the county

238-668: A plantation economy based on cotton as the commodity crop. Planters had numerous African-American slaves as laborers. By the 1850s, Fort Bend was one of six majority-black counties in Texas. In 1860, the slave population totaled 4,127, more than twice that of the 2,016 whites. Few free Blacks lived there, as Texas refused them entry. While the area began to attract white immigrants in the late 19th century, it remained majority-Black during and after Reconstruction. Whites endeavored to control freedmen and their descendants through violence and intimidation. Freedmen and their sympathizers supported

357-408: A commissioners' court. It is composed of four popularly elected county commissioners, one representing each precinct drawn decennially on the basis of population, and a county judge elected to represent the entire county. Other county officials include a sheriff, district attorney, tax assessor-collector, county clerk, district clerk, county treasurer, and county attorney. For decades, Fort Bend County

476-998: A date that excluded blacks. Application of these measures was done in such a discriminatory way that not even educated, middle-class blacks managed to stay on the voter rolls. The Democratic Party achieved a dramatic drop in black voting across the South, with related weakening of the Republican Party in the region. White Democrats were successful in establishing and maintaining a one-party system in most southern states. They thus developed great power in Congress, controlling all seats allocated to their states, establishing seniority, and gaining critical chairmanships of important committees, which extended their power. Black citizens excluded from voting were also shut out of running for local offices, serving on juries, or in other civil offices, and were forced into second-class status. To strengthen

595-591: A decrease in population. This was a period when many African Americans migrated in the second wave of the Great Migration from Texas and other parts of the South to the West Coast, where a buildup in the defense industry provided more job opportunities. Other minorities settled in the county during its residential development, and African Americans are now a minority. As of the census of 2000, 354,452 people, 110,915 households, and 93,057 families resided in

714-489: A discriminatory manner by white officials. Although the proportion of Southern blacks registered to vote steadily increased from less than 3% in 1940 to 29% in 1960 and over 40% in 1964, gains were minimal in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana outside Acadiana , and southern parts of Georgia. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was intended to address this. Southern Democratic party chapters started to use white primaries in

833-544: A district, but take on district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities and there are 107 of them, bringing the total number of districts to 401. The administrative unit of Hungary is called vármegye (between 1950 and 2022 they were called megye , historically also comitatus in Latin ), which can be translated with the word county . The two names are used interchangeably ('megye' used in common parlance, and when referring to

952-442: A few cities ( Persian : شهر , shahar ) and rural agglomerations ( Persian : دهستان , dehestān ) in each county. Rural agglomerations are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county. Each shahrestān has a government office known as farmândâri ( فرمانداری ), which coordinates different events and government offices. The farmândâr فرماندار , or

1071-426: A hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with. School districts in the county include: Kendleton Independent School District , which formerly served parts of the county, closed in 2010 and merged into LCISD. The Texas Legislature assigns these community college districts to the following: Fort Bend County Libraries operates many libraries in

1190-471: A large minority middle class started to emerge, Fort Bend was virgin territory that all groups could move to." In 2020 Fort Bend County had the highest percentage of Asian Americans of any county in Texas. In 2019 Indian Americans make up almost 50% of the Asian Americans in the county, with the second and third largest subsets being Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans . From 2010 to 2020

1309-422: A letter addressed simply to "Mr. Republican". As the 1960s progressed, though, rapid suburban-style development in west and southwest Houston began to overflow into Fort Bend County, where the development of numerous master-planned communities attracted many upper-middle-class families to developments in the eastern portion of the county. This development, along with the shift of conservative white Democrats towards

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1428-487: A level of local administration that was immediately beneath a national government , within a unitary (non-federal) system of government. “County” later also became used differently in some federal systems of government, for a local administrative division subordinate to a primary subnational entity , such as a Province (e.g. Canada) or a level 3 territorial unit such as NUTS 3 ( Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – Level 3). Examples include

1547-601: A major suburban county dominated by service and manufacturing industries. Among the earliest such developments were Sugar Land's Sugar Creek and Missouri City's Quail Valley , whose golf course hosted the Houston Open during the 1973 and 1974 seasons of the PGA Tour . Another was First Colony in Sugar Land, a 9,700-acre development commenced in the 1970s by Houston developer Gerald D. Hines that eventually became

1666-473: A median household income of $ 95,389 and a median family income of $ 105,944, surpassing Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census. Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by Karankawa Indians. Spanish colonists generally did not reach the area during their colonization, settling more in South Texas. After Mexico achieved independence from Spain, Anglo-Americans started entering from

1785-576: A nickname), and county allegiances are taken quite seriously. See the counties of Ireland and the Gaelic Athletic Association . In Italy the word county is not used; the administrative sub-division of a region is called provincia . Italian provinces are mainly named after their principal town and comprise several administrative subdivisions called comuni ('communes'). There are currently 110 provinces in Italy. In

1904-440: A potential expansion of Sugar Land Regional Airport. In contrast to greater Houston in general, Fort Bend County's economy is more diverse, with numerous service-sector jobs in healthcare, energy, education, hospitality, and other areas. Major companies with a presence in the county include Schlumberger , Minute Maid , Fluor , and Sunoco 's logistics operations in Sugar Land. The Houston Business Journal reported in 2010 that

2023-473: A process in which blacks had been denied their constitutional right for many decades to vote and participate in the political process. They believed that, because the MFDP had conducted their delegate selection process according to the party's own national rules, they should be seated as the official Mississippi delegation, not just a token two as at-large delegates. Many civil rights activists were deeply offended by

2142-659: A rule banning black voting in primary elections. This revised scheme was upheld in Grovey v. Townsend (1935), where the Supreme Court held that this basis for a white primary was constitutional, on the grounds that the political party was a private entity. Another challenge to the Texas white primaries was Smith v. Allwright (1944), which overturned Grovey v. Townsend . In that case the Supreme Court ruled that white primaries as established by Texas were unconstitutional. Though Smith v. Allwright applied directly only to

2261-640: A senator. Additionally, a women's representative is elected from each county to the Parliament of Kenya to represent women's interests. Counties replaced provinces as the second-level division after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya . Liberia has 15 counties, each of which elects two senators to the Senate of Liberia . The English word county is used to translate the Chinese term xiàn ( 县 or 縣 ). In Mainland China , governed by

2380-627: A separate set of issues, notably hospitals and public transportation for the municipalities within its borders. The counties and their expanse have changed several times, most recently in 1998. Every county council corresponds to a county with a number of municipalities per county. County councils and municipalities have different roles and separate responsibilities relating to local government. Health care, public transport and certain cultural institutions are administered by county councils while general education, public water utilities, garbage disposal, elderly care and rescue services are administered by

2499-400: A single tier of local government. However, in the north as well as in the south, the traditional 32 counties and 4 provinces remain in common usage for many sporting, cultural and other purposes. County identity is heavily reinforced in the local culture by allegiances to county teams in hurling and Gaelic football . Each Gaelic Athletic Association county has its own flag/colours (and often

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2618-608: A system similar to that proposed in the 1960s by the Redcliffe-Maud Report for most of Britain. The name "county" was introduced by the Normans , and was derived from a Norman term for an area administered by a Count (lord). These Norman "counties" were simply the Saxon shires, and kept their Saxon names. Several traditional counties, including Essex , Sussex and Kent , predate the unification of England by Alfred

2737-543: A type of designation in a single-tier municipal system; but this was nominally changed to " municipal district " under the Municipal Government Act , when the County Act was repealed in the mid-1990s. However, at the time the new "municipal districts" were also permitted to retain the usage of county in their official names. White primary White primaries were primary elections held in

2856-522: Is Houston ; however, most of Houston's population is located in neighboring Harris County. Fort Bend County is included in the Houston – The Woodlands –Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area . As of the 2020 census , the population was 822,779. In 2017, Forbes ranked it the fifth-fastest growing county in the United States. In 2015, Fort Bend County became Texas's wealthiest county, with

2975-700: Is sir which is derived from the English 'shire'. The word is officially used to signify counties in Wales. In the Gaelic form, Scottish traditional county names are generally distinguished by the designation siorramachd —literally "sheriffdom", e.g. Siorramachd Earra-ghaidheal (Argyllshire). This term corresponds to the jurisdiction of the sheriff in the Scottish legal system. A county in Alberta used to be

3094-524: Is Houston's William P. Hobby Airport in Harris County. Fort Bend County is also within the primary service area of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Fort Bend County officially created a department of public transportation in 2005 that provides commuter buses to Uptown , Greenway Plaza , and Texas Medical Center . It also provides demand-and-response buses to senior citizens and

3213-558: Is a debate on the future of the county municipality as an administrative entity. Some people, and parties, such as the Conservative and Progress Party , call for the abolition of the county municipalities once and for all, while others, including the Labour Party , merely want to merge some of them into larger regions. The territorial administration of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The country

3332-483: Is an administrative unit under a province that is equivalent to a city. A regency is headed by a regent who is directly elected by the people, and is responsible for public services such as education, health, and infrastructure. The structure of a regency includes several districts ( kecamatan ) which are further divided into villages or ward. Regency in Indonesia is similar to the concept of "county" in countries such as

3451-626: Is divided into voivodeships (provinces); these are further divided into powiats (counties or districts). The term powiat is often translated into English as county (or sometimes district ). In historical contexts this may be confusing because the Polish term hrabstwo (a territorial unit administered/owned by a hrabia ( count ) is also literally translated as "county" and it was subordinated under powiat . The 380 county-level entities in Poland include 314 "land counties" (powiaty ziemskie) and

3570-433: Is equivalent to the municipality of Oslo. Each county has its own county council ( fylkesting ) whose representatives are elected every four years together with representatives to the municipal councils . The counties handle matters such as high schools and local roads, and until 1 January 2002 hospitals as well. This last responsibility was transferred to the state-run health authorities and health trusts , and there

3689-549: Is often considered a swing county, with election results usually tilting more Democratic than statewide results, which continue to favor Republicans. Elections within the county are often decided by margins in more Republican-leaning areas in Sugar Land, Rosenberg, and Sienna, with Republicans dominating in the Katy, Fulshear, and rural southern areas of the county and Democrats in the county's northeast corner around Missouri City and Fresno, as well as heavily Hispanic Mission Bend. Since

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3808-490: Is the Lithuanian word for county. Since 1994 Lithuania has 10 counties; before 1950 it had 20. The only purpose with the county is an office of a state governor who shall conduct law and order in the county. Norway has been divided into 11 counties ( Bokmål : fylker , Nynorsk : fylke ; singular: fylke ) since 2020; they previously numbered 19 following a local government reform in 1972. Until that year Bergen

3927-591: Is the wealthiest county in Texas, with a median household income of $ 95,389 and a median family income of $ 105,944, having surpassed Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census. However, the Council for Community and Economic Research ranked Fort Bend County America's third-wealthiest county when the local cost of living was factored in. This estimate does not include property taxes and local taxes, as effective tax rates and home insurance were not measured. Along with other Texas counties, Fort Bend County has one of

4046-600: The Greater Katy area began to experience rapid growth and expansion into Fort Bend County in the 1990s, led by the development of Cinco Ranch . By 2010, the county's population exceeded 500,000, and it had become the second-largest county in the greater Houston area (behind Harris County). In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant flooding in Fort Bend County, leading to the evacuation of 200,000 residents and over 10,000 rescues. The unprecedented flooding,

4165-573: The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220). It remains one of the oldest titles of local-level government in China and significantly predates the establishment of provinces in the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). The county government was particularly important in imperial China because this was the lowest level at which the imperial government is functionally involved, while below it the local people are managed predominantly by

4284-501: The People's Republic of China (PRC), counties and county-level divisions are the third level of regional/local government, coming under the provincial level and the prefectural level , and above the township level and village level . There are 1,464 so-named "counties" out of 2,862 county-level divisions in the PRC, and the number of counties has remained more or less constant since

4403-484: The ROC-controlled territories . During most of the imperial era, there were no concepts like municipalities in China. All cities existed within counties, commanderies , prefectures, etc., and had no governments of their own. Large cities (must be imperial capitals or seats of prefectures) could be divided and administered by two or three counties. Such counties are called 倚郭縣 ( yǐguō xiàn , 'county leaning on

4522-1070: The Russian Empire in the Cossack Hetmanate , Sloboda Ukraine , Southern Ukraine , and Right-Bank Ukraine . In 1913 there were 126 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited territories of the Russian Empire. Under the Austrian Empire in 1914 there were 59 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited Galicia, 34 in Transcarpathia , and 10 in Bukovina . Counties were retained by the independent Ukrainian People's Republic of 1917–1921, and in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania until

4641-598: The Southern United States in which only white voters were permitted to participate. Statewide white primaries were established by the state Democratic Party units or by state legislatures in South Carolina (1896), Florida (1902), Mississippi and Alabama (also 1902), Texas (1905), Louisiana and Arkansas (1906), and Georgia (1900). Since winning the Democratic primary in

4760-701: The gentries . The head of a county government during imperial China was the magistrate , who was often a newly ascended jinshi . In older context, district was an older English translation of xiàn before the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The English nomenclature county was adopted following the establishment of the ROC. In addition, provincial cities have the same level of authority as counties. Above county, there are special municipalities (in effect) and province (suspended due to economical and political reasons). There are currently 13 counties in

4879-658: The historic counties of England . In 1974, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties replaced the system of administrative counties and county boroughs which was introduced in 1889. The counties generally belong to level 3 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics ( NUTS 3 ). In 1965 and 1974–1975, major reorganisations of local government in England and Wales created several new administrative counties such as Hereford and Worcester (abolished again in 1998 and reverted, with some transfers of territory, to

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4998-503: The municipality of Bucharest , constitute the official administrative divisions of Romania . They represent the country 's NUTS-3 ( Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – Level 3) statistical subdivisions within the European Union and each of them serves as the local level of government within its borders. Most counties are named after a major river , while some are named after notable cities within them, such as

5117-474: The 1927 and 1932 cases, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, saying that state laws establishing a white primary violated the Fourteenth Amendment . Later in 1927 Texas changed its law in response, delegating authority to political parties to establish their own rules for primaries. In Grovey v. Townsend (1935), the Supreme Court ruled that this practice was constitutional, as it

5236-429: The 1970s, Fort Bend County has been attracting people from all ethnic backgrounds. According to a 2001 Claritas study, it was the fifth-most diverse U.S. county, among counties with a population of 100,000 or more. It is one of a growing number of U.S. counties with an ethnic plurality , with no single ethnic group forming a majority of the population. Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Asian Americans in

5355-545: The 1994 election of a Republican county judge to the commissioners' court for the first time since Reconstruction. As of 2019, five of Fort Bend County's eight countywide offices, including two precinct-level positions, are held by Republicans. The remaining three are held by Democrats. With growing populations of minorities and more socially moderate suburban voters who often break Republican on fiscal and economic issues, Fort Bend County has recently become more competitive. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama came very close to winning

5474-433: The 66 "city counties" ( miasta na prawach powiatu or powiaty grodzkie ) powiat . They are subdivisions of the 16 voivodeship , and are further subdivided into 2,477 gminas (also called commune or municipality ). The Romanian word for county, comitat , is not currently used for any Romanian administrative divisions. Romania is divided into a total of 41 counties ( Romanian : județe ), which along with

5593-561: The Alabama delegation ... refused to pledge their support for the national ticket of Johnson and Hubert Humphrey and were denied seating. The next year Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , authorizing the federal government to oversee voter registration and other political practices and enforce rights in states with a history of under-representation of minority voters. Work began to register African Americans across

5712-824: The Democratic Party dominated the political systems of all the Southern states after Reconstruction, its state and local primary elections usually determined which candidate would ultimately win office in the general election. Beginning in the early 20th century, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed numerous lawsuits in efforts to overturn discriminatory electoral and voter registration practices by Southern states. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also participated in such cases. The ACLU filed suit based on

5831-589: The Democratic Party's state executive committee to set voting qualifications for its primaries. The new law provided that every political party would henceforth "in its own way determine who shall be qualified to vote or otherwise participate in such political party". Nixon sued again, in Nixon v. Condon (1932). The Supreme Court again found in his favor on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Democratic Party of Texas state convention then adopted

5950-534: The Fort Bend County Commissioners' Court. In 2018, significant enthusiasm for U.S. Senate candidate Beto O' Rourke and strong Democratic infrastructure resulted in Democratic control of the commissioners' court (including county judge) and a number of countywide administrative and judicial posts, with Fort Bend Independent School District board trustee K.P. George becoming Texas's first Asian-American county judge. Today, Fort Bend County

6069-543: The Great , and were originally more or less independent kingdoms (although the most important Saxon Kingdom on the island of Britain, Alfred's own Wessex , no longer survives in any form). In England, in the Anglo-Saxon period, shires were established as areas used for the raising of taxes , and usually had a fortified town at their centre. This became known as the shire town or later the county town . In many cases,

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6188-636: The Jaybirds ordered a list of certain Blacks and Woodpecker officials out of the county, overthrowing the local government. The Jaybirds took over county offices and established a "White-only pre-primary," disenfranchising African Americans from the only competitive contests in the county. This device lasted until 1950, when Willie Melton and Arizona Fleming won a lawsuit against the practice in United States District Court , though it

6307-585: The Republican Party because of emancipation, electing their candidates to office. The state legislature was still predominately white. By the 1880s, most white residents belonged to the Democratic Party. Factional tensions were fierce, as political elements split largely along racial lines. The Jaybirds, representing the majority of the Whites, struggled to regain control from the Woodpeckers, who were made up of some whites who were consistently elected to office by

6426-493: The Republican Party in the wake of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , led to increased support for the GOP in the following years. Richard Nixon narrowly carried the county in 1968, making it the only county in greater Houston outside of Harris County to go Republican that year, and carried it again in 1972. In 1976, conservative physician Ron Paul of Brazoria County, noted for his opposition to most government programs, which earned him

6545-622: The Richmond-Rosenberg area. Fort Bend County is also a major service area for the Houston Chronicle , which provides separate local coverage for the Sugar Land and Katy areas. The sole publicly owned airport in the county is Sugar Land Regional Airport in Sugar Land . Privately owned airports for public use include: Privately owned for private use: The closest airport with regularly scheduled commercial service

6664-591: The South at the time almost always meant winning the general election, barring black and other minority voters meant they were in essence disenfranchised. Southern states also passed laws and constitutions with provisions to raise barriers to voter registration, completing disenfranchisement from 1890 to 1908 in all states of the former Confederacy . The Texas Legislature passed a law in 1923 that prevented black voters from participating in any Democratic Party primary election. The Supreme Court , in 1927, 1932, and 1935, heard three Texas cases related to white primaries. In

6783-402: The South in the presidential election. Eventually, Hubert Humphrey , Walter Reuther and black civil rights leaders, including Roy Wilkins and Bayard Rustin , worked out a compromise: two of the 68 MFDP delegates chosen by Johnson would be made at-large delegates and the remainder would be non-voting guests of the convention. The regular Mississippi delegation was required to pledge to support

6902-540: The Southern United States; the largest groups are of Vietnamese , Chinese , Indian , and Filipino ancestry. By 2011, Fort Bend was ranked the fourth-most racially diverse county in the United States by USA Today . The newspaper based the ranking on calculating the probability that two persons selected at random would be of different ethnic groups or races. According to the USA Today methodology,

7021-671: The Soviet annexations at the start of World War II. 99 counties formed the Ukrainian SSR in 1919, where they were abolished in 1923–25 in favour of 53 okruhas (in turn replaced by oblasts in 1930–32), although they existed in the Zakarpattia Oblast until 1953. The United Kingdom is divided into a number of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties . There are also ceremonial counties which group small non-metropolitan counties into geographical areas broadly based on

7140-455: The Texas law, following this ruling, most southern states ended their selectively inclusive white primaries. Activists gained the voter registration of tens of thousands of African Americans after the end of white primaries, but many were still excluded from voting as states used other discriminatory practices, including poll taxes and literacy tests (administered subjectively by white registrars) to keep African Americans from voting. The end of

7259-583: The UK are usually responsible for education, emergency services, planning, transport, social services, and a number of other functions. Until 1974, the county boundaries of England changed little over time. In the medieval period, a number of important cities were granted the status of counties in their own right, such as London , Bristol and Coventry , and numerous small exclaves such as Islandshire were created. In 1844, most of these exclaves were transferred to their surrounding counties. In Northern Ireland ,

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7378-578: The United States and Canada, which evolved from British colonial America and inherited British governmental traditions, where counties often remain as local administrative divisions that evolved from historic (pre-federal) counties governed by courts/magistracy. A county may be further subdivided into smaller jurisdictions such as hundreds , or townships . A county usually, but not always, contains cities, towns, townships , villages , or other municipal corporations , which in most cases are somewhat subordinate or dependent upon county governments. Depending on

7497-480: The United States and the United Kingdom, but with differences in cultural context and government system. Indonesia has more than 400 regencies spread across all provinces. The ostans (provinces) of Iran are further subdivided into counties called shahrestān ( Persian : شهرستان ). County consists of a city centre, a few bakhsh ( Persian : بخش ), and many villages around them. There are usually

7616-685: The basis of local organisation of police, fire departments and, sometimes, administration of elections. Each administrative district consists of an elected council and an executive, and whose duties are comparable to those of a county executive in the United States, supervising local government administration. Historically, counties in the Holy Roman Empire were called Grafschaften . The majority of German districts are "rural districts" (German: Landkreise ), of which there are 294 as of 2017 . Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) do not usually belong to

7735-578: The chance of people of being two different ethnic groups/races being selected was 75%. Karl Eschbach, a former demographer with the State of Texas, has said that many people from Houston neighborhoods and communities with clear racial identities, such as the East End , Sunnyside , and the Third Ward , moved to suburban areas that were too new to have established racial identities. Eschbach explained, "[a]s

7854-410: The city walls') or 附郭縣 ( fùguō xiàn , 'county attached to the city walls'). The yamen or governmental houses of these counties exist in the same city. In other words, they share one county town. In this sense, a yǐguō xiàn or fùguō xiàn is similar to a district of a city. For example, the city of Guangzhou (seat of the eponymous prefecture, also known as Canton in the Western world)

7973-456: The civil rights era of the 1960s, voter registration drives were held in southern states in efforts to work within the system. In some cases activists were assaulted or murdered, and African Americans made little progress against white determination to exclude most blacks from voting. The 1964 Democratic National Convention was controversial because of the dispute as to which delegates from Mississippi were entitled to be present and to vote. At

8092-447: The context of pre-modern Italy, the Italian word contado generally refers to the countryside surrounding, and controlled by, the city state. The contado provided natural resources and agricultural products to sustain the urban population. In contemporary usage, contado can refer to a metropolitan area, and in some cases large rural/suburban regions providing resources to distant cities. Apskritis (plural apskritys )

8211-400: The convention's outcome. As leader (and later Representative) John Lewis said, We had played by the rules, done everything we were supposed to do, had played the game exactly as required, had arrived at the doorstep and found the door slammed in our face. Many white delegates from Mississippi and Alabama refused to sign any pledge, and left the convention. In all, 43 of the 53 members of

8330-403: The counties of Meath and Westmeath and small parts of surrounding counties constituted the province of Mide , which was one of the "Five Fifths" of Ireland (in the Irish language the word for province, cúige , means 'a fifth': from cúig , 'five'); however, these have long since been absorbed into Leinster. In the Republic each county is administered by an elected " county council ", and

8449-520: The counties of other states), just like before 1950, when the word 'megye' even appeared in legal texts. The 19 counties constitute the highest level of the administrative subdivisions of the country together with the capital city Budapest, although counties and the capital are grouped into seven statistical regions. Counties are subdivided into districts ( járás ) and municipalities, the two types of which are towns ( város ) and villages ( község ), each one having their own elected mayor and council. 23 of

8568-479: The county is one type of municipal-level division. Denmark was divided into counties ( Danish : amter ) from 1662 to 2006. On 1 January 2007 the counties were replaced by five Regions . At the same time, the number of municipalities was slashed to 98. The counties were first introduced in 1662, replacing the 49 fiefs ( len ) in Denmark–Norway with the same number of counties. This number does not include

8687-435: The county seat. The Swedish division into counties, län , which literally means ' fief ', was established in 1634, and was based on an earlier division into provinces ; Sweden is divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities ( kommuner ). At the county level there is a county administrative board led by a governor appointed by the central government of Sweden , as well as an elected county council that handles

8806-471: The county, with 48.6% of the vote to Republican John McCain 's 50.9%. In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to carry the county since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, largely due to the unpopularity of Republican nominee Donald Trump , with many voters splitting their tickets between Clinton and Republicans for other offices; Republicans won every elected countywide office by a margin similar to Clinton's, while also defeating an incumbent Democrat on

8925-820: The county. Houston Public Library operates one branch in the county, the Stimley Blue Ridge Neighborhood Library in Blue Ridge, Houston . Local newspapers in the county include three weeklies: the Fort Bend Star , headquartered in Stafford ; the Fort Bend Independent ; and the Fort Bend Sun , headquartered in Sugar Land. The daily Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster focuses on news coverage in

9044-457: The county. According to the 2008 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the county was $ 81,456, and for a family was $ 90,171. Males had a median income of $ 54,139 versus $ 41,353 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 30,862. About 5.50% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line , including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over. As of 2006, Fort Bend County

9163-668: The county. Source: The Fort Bend County Jail is at 1410 Richmond Parkway in Richmond . Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the following facilities in Fort Bend County, all at the Jester State Prison Farm site: Prisons for men: Other facilities: The TDCJ announced that the Central Unit in Sugar Land was closing in 2011. The City of Sugar Land is exploring the property for future economic development, including light industrial uses, as well as

9282-421: The county. The population density was 405 people per square mile (156 people/km). The 115,991 housing units averaged 133 units per square mile (51/km). The racial or ethnic makeup of the county was 56.96% White (46.21% White non-Hispanic), 19.85% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 11.20% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.10% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. About 21.12% of

9401-828: The diversity of industries promoted decades of rapid population growth. After Memorial Hermann Hospital and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital opened facilities in Fort Bend County, already home to local facilities for Houston Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land, as well as locally based OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, many doctors moved their offices to the county. Compared to Montgomery County, which has experienced rapid growth in corporate employment following ExxonMobil's decision to move its greater Houston operations to an area directly south of The Woodlands, Fort Bend County has yet to experience significant corporate growth, though Schlumberger recently announced plans to move its North American headquarters to Sugar Land. The county does not have

9520-406: The earlier Anglo-Saxons did have earls , sheriffs and shires . The shires were the districts that became the historic counties of England , and given the same Latin translation comitatus . Many English county names derive from the name of the county town ( county seat ) with the word shire added on, for example Gloucestershire and Worcestershire . The term "county" evolved to designate

9639-496: The east. In 1822, a group of Stephen F. Austin 's colonists, headed by William Travis, built a fort at the present site of Richmond. The fort was called Fort Bend because it was built in the bend of the Brazos River. The city of Richmond was incorporated under the Republic of Texas along with 19 other towns in 1837. Fort Bend County was created from parts of Austin, Harris, and Brazoria Counties in 1838. Fort Bend developed

9758-410: The exclusion of minorities from the political system, Texas, Georgia and some other states established white primaries, a "selectively inclusive" system that permitted only whites to vote in the primaries. By legally considering the general election as the only state-held election, they gave white members of the Democratic Party control of the decision-making process within the party and the state. Because

9877-562: The general public that travel only in Fort Bend County. Parts of the county, such as Katy and Missouri City, participate in the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and are served by several park-and-ride routes. County When the Normans conquered England, they brought the term with them. Although there were at first no counts, vicomtes or counties in Anglo-Norman England,

9996-515: The head of farmândâri , is the governor of the shahrestān . Fars Province has the highest number of shahrestāns , with 36, while Qom uniquely has one, being coextensive with its namesake county . Iran had 324 shahrestāns in 2005 and 443 in 2021. County is the common English translation for the character 군 ( gun or kun ) that denotes the current second level political division in South Korea . In North Korea ,

10115-1005: The late 19th century, as part of efforts to suppress black voting and weaken the Republican Party in the South. In an effort to maintain white supremacy , Democratic activists had often used violence and fraud at elections to suppress black voting. Following the temporary loss of power to the biracial coalition of Populists and Republicans in the 1890s, when Democrats regained control of state legislatures (often on campaigns based on white supremacy), they systematically adopted electoral rules in new constitutions or specific laws to disenfranchise black voters by making voter registration and voting more difficult. A number of devices were used, including poll taxes , residency requirements, record-keeping requirements and literacy tests , all administered by white officials. The Democrats sometimes protected illiterate or poor white voters by such devices as grandfather clauses , which provided exemptions to men who had ancestors who have voted or resided in certain areas as of

10234-557: The majority of African Americans, as several had served as Republican officials during Reconstruction. Fort Bend County was the site of the Jaybird–Woodpecker War in 1888–89. After a few murders were committed, the political feud culminated in a gun battle at the courthouse on August 16, 1889, when several more people were killed and the Woodpeckers were routed from the county seat. Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross sent in militia forces and declared martial law. With his support,

10353-461: The municipalities. Gotland is a special case of being a county council with only one municipality and the functions of county council and municipality are performed by the same organisation. In Ukraine the county ( Ukrainian : повіт , romanized :  povit ) was introduced in Ukrainian territories under Poland in the second half of the 14th century, and in the eighteenth century under

10472-539: The nation's highest property-tax rates. In 2007, it was ranked fifth in the nation for property taxes as a percentage of the homes' value on owner-occupied housing. The list includes only counties with a population over 65,000. Fort Bend County also ranked in the top 100 in property taxes paid and percentage of taxes of income. Part of this is due to Texas's complex Robin Hood plan school financing law. County politics in Fort Bend County, as in all Texas counties, center around

10591-471: The nation, municipality , and local geography, municipalities may or may not be subject to direct or indirect county control. The functions of both levels are often consolidated into a city government when the area is densely populated, and are generally not when it is less densely populated. Outside English-speaking countries , an equivalent of the term county is often used to describe subnational jurisdictions that are structurally equivalent to counties in

10710-415: The national convention, the integrated Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) claimed the seats for delegates for Mississippi, on the grounds that the official Mississippi delegation had been elected in violation of the party's rules, as it excluded blacks from voting. Blacks were still systematically excluded by discriminatory provisions from registering and voting in the primaries, and participating in

10829-465: The national party ticket; and the Democratic Party committed to accepting in the future only those delegations chosen by non-discriminatory methods. Although Joseph Rauh , the MFDP’s lawyer, initially refused this deal, he eventually urged the MFDP to accept it. However, the MFDP delegates refused. They believed that the national party, by accepting the official all-white Mississippi delegation, had validated

10948-576: The nickname "Dr. No", captured the 22nd district in the United States House of Representatives in a special election, before narrowly losing re-election in the November election in which Gerald Ford also won Fort Bend, despite losing Texas to Jimmy Carter . Beginning in 1978, Republicans began to win several offices within the county, with William P. Clements carrying the county in his successful run for governor. That same year, Paul

11067-512: The number stayed at 22. The number was further decreased by the 1970 Danish municipal reform, leaving 14 counties plus two cities unconnected to the county structure; Copenhagen and Frederiksberg . In 2003, Bornholm County merged with the local five municipalities, forming the Bornholm Regional Municipality . The remaining 13 counties were abolished on 1 January 2007 where they were replaced by five new regions. In

11186-528: The old provincial divisions are merely traditional names with no political significance. The number and boundaries of administrative counties in the Republic of Ireland were reformed in the 1990s. For example, County Dublin was divided into three: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown , Fingal , and South Dublin ; the City of Dublin had existed for centuries before. The cities of Cork and Galway have been separated from

11305-585: The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the federal government has enforced it by regularly reviewing voting patterns and local practices, and plaintiffs have sometimes sued state or local governments over discriminatory practices. In April 2009, as part of a settlement with the United States Department of Justice , officials of Fort Bend County agreed to increase assistance to Spanish-speaking Latino voters in elections held in

11424-538: The percentage of non-Hispanic white people declined by 4.8%, the Asian American community grew by 83,167 (83.7% increase), the percentage of Hispanic people increased by 42.9% and the percentage of black people increased by 35.9%. Fort Bend County also has the highest percentage of Filipino Americans in the Greater Houston area and in state of Texas. Filipinos are also the fourth largest Asian subset in

11543-479: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Other self-identifications were 8.8% of German ancestry, 6.3% American, and 5.8% English ancestry. In 2000, of the 110,915 households, 49.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.80% were married couples living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.10% were not families. About 13.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.10% had someone living alone who

11662-475: The precinct and county caucuses and the state convention. Nevertheless, the MFDP delegates had all been elected in strict compliance with party rules. The party's liberal leaders supported an even division of the seats between the two delegations. However, President Lyndon B. Johnson was concerned that, while the regular Democrats of Mississippi would probably vote for conservative Republican Barry Goldwater anyway, rejecting them at that time would cost Johnson

11781-462: The relationship they have with their national government; but which may not be administratively equivalent to counties in predominantly English-speaking countries. Counties are the current second-level political division in Kenya. Each county has an assembly where members of the county assembly (MCAs) sit. This assembly is headed by a governor. Each county is also represented in the Senate of Kenya by

11900-505: The result of record rainfall and overflow from the Brazos River and Barker Reservoir , resulted in damage to or destruction of over 6,800 homes in the county. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 885 square miles (2,290 km), of which 24 square miles (62 km) (2.7%) are covered by water. From 1930 to 1950, the county showed a decline in the rate of expansion and even

12019-500: The royal administration, but from the 13th century they became self-governments of the nobles and kept this character until the 19th century when in turn they became modern local governments. The island of Ireland was historically divided into 32 counties, of which 26 later formed the Republic of Ireland and 6 made up Northern Ireland . These counties are traditionally grouped into four provinces : Leinster (12 counties), Munster (6), Connacht (5) and Ulster (9). Historically,

12138-571: The same reform, the number of municipalities was slashed from 270 to 98 and all municipalities now belong to a region. A comté was a territory ruled by a count ( comte ) in medieval France. In modern France, the rough equivalent of a county as used in many English-speaking countries is a department ( département ). Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France , and five are overseas departments , which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 334 arrondissements , but these have no autonomy; they are

12257-519: The shires were named after their shire town (for example Bedford shire ), but there are several exceptions, such as Cumberland , Norfolk and Suffolk . In several other cases, such as Buckinghamshire , the modern county town is different from the town after which the shire is named. (See Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom ) Most non-metropolitan counties in England are run by county councils and are divided into non-metropolitan districts , each with its own council. Local authorities in

12376-436: The six county councils, if not their counties, were abolished in 1973 and replaced by 26 local government districts. The traditional six counties remain in common everyday use for many cultural and other purposes. The thirteen historic counties of Wales were fixed by statute in 1539 (although counties such as Pembrokeshire date from 1138) and most of the shires of Scotland are of at least this age. The Welsh word for county

12495-408: The southwest Greater Houston area's main retail hub, anchored by First Colony Mall and Sugar Land Town Square . Since the 1980s, new communities have continued to develop, with Greatwood , New Territory , and Sienna (originally Sienna Plantation) among the more recent notable developments. In addition to continued development in the eastern part of the county around Sugar Land and Missouri City,

12614-461: The state's having passed discriminatory legislation in violation of Constitutional amendments. In 1923 Texas enacted the Statute of Texas, which provided that "in no event shall a negro be eligible to participate in a Democratic party primary election held in the State of Texas". The law was challenged by Dr. L. A. Nixon, a black member of the Democratic Party, in Nixon v. Herndon (1927). Nixon

12733-593: The subdivisions of the Duchy of Schleswig , which was only under partial Danish control. The number of counties in Denmark (excluding Norway) had dropped to around 20 by 1793. Following the reunification of South Jutland with Denmark in 1920, four counties replaced the Prussian Kreise . Aabenraa and Sønderborg County merged in 1932 and Skanderborg and Aarhus were separated in 1942. From 1942 to 1970,

12852-410: The town and rural areas of their counties. The cities of Limerick and Waterford were merged with their respective counties in 2014. Thus, the Republic of Ireland now has 31 'county-level' authorities, although the borders of the original twenty-six counties are still officially in place. In Northern Ireland, the six county councils and the smaller town councils were abolished in 1973 and replaced by

12971-577: The towns have the rights of a county although they do not form independent territorial units equal to counties. The vármegye was also the historic administrative unit in the Kingdom of Hungary , which included areas of present-day neighbouring countries of Hungary. Its Latin name ( comitatus ) is the equivalent of the French comté . Actual political and administrative role of counties changed much through history. Originally they were subdivisions of

13090-480: The two separate historic counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and also created several new metropolitan counties based on large urban areas as a single administrative unit. In Scotland, county-level local government was replaced by larger regions , which lasted until 1996. Modern local government in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and a large part of England is trending towards smaller unitary authorities:

13209-473: The white primary caused alarm in white politicians. In his 1946 senate reelection campaign, Mississippi politician and Klansman Theodore Bilbo predicted that there would be a surge of voting from black people, and vowed to help combat it. His threats of violence discouraged about half of eligible black citizens from voting, allowing him to easily win reelection. African Americans continued to work to have their constitutional rights as citizens enforced. During

13328-449: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14, and the average family size was 3.46. In the county, the age distribution of the population was 32.00% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 32.30% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 5.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. Since

13447-400: Was a separate county, but today it is a municipality within the county of Vestland . All counties form administrative entities called county municipalities ( fylkeskommuner or fylkeskommunar ; singular: fylkeskommune ), further subdivided into municipalities ( kommuner or kommunar ; singular: kommune ). One county, Oslo , is not divided into municipalities, rather it

13566-481: Was a stronghold for the Democratic Party , having achieved disenfranchisement of Blacks at the county level in 1889 in the aftermath of the Jaybird–Woodpecker War . The state effectively disfranchised them with a poll tax and White primaries ; the latter device was declared unconstitutional in 1944. By 1960, so few Republicans resided in Fort Bend County that the county's Republican chair once received

13685-848: Was administered by the Democratic Party, which legally was a private institution, not a state institution. In 1944, however, in Smith v. Allwright , the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 against the Texas white primary system. In that case, the Court ruled that the 1923 Texas state law was unconstitutional , because it allowed the state Democratic Party to racially discriminate. After the case, most Southern states ended their selectively inclusive white primaries. They retained other techniques of disenfranchisement, particularly in terms of barriers to voter registration, such as poll taxes and literacy tests . These generally survived legal challenges as they applied to all potential voters, but in practice they were administered in

13804-402: Was denied a ballot in a Democratic Party primary election in Texas on the basis of the law and sued for damages under federal civil rights laws. The Court found in his favor on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment , which guarantees "equal protection under the law", while not discussing his Fifteenth Amendment claim to the franchise. Following the ruling, Texas amended the statute to allow

13923-710: Was historically divided by Nanhai County ( 南海縣 ) and Panyu County ( 番禺縣 ). When the first modern city government in China was established in Guangzhou, the urban area was separated from these two counties, with the rural areas left in the remaining parts of them. However, the county governments remained in the city for years, before moving into the respective counties. Similar processes happened in many Chinese cities. Nowadays, most counties in mainland China, i.e. with "Xian" in their titles, are administered by prefecture-level cities and have mainly agricultural economies and rural populations. Regency ( kabupaten ) in Indonesia

14042-620: Was overturned on appeal. In 1953, they ultimately won their suit when the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Jaybird primary unconstitutional in Terry v. Adams , the last of the white primary cases. In the 1960s, the first of several master-planned communities that came to define the county were developed, marking the beginning of its transformation from a largely rural county dominated by railroad and oil and gas interests to

14161-493: Was returned to Congress, while businessman Tom DeLay captured the county's seat in the Texas House of Representatives . In 1984 DeLay succeeded Paul in Congress after the latter ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign, and became House majority leader by 2002. Beginning in 1982, Republicans won a number of county-level offices and judicial benches, and Fort Bend County's new reputation as a Republican stronghold culminated in

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