Misplaced Pages

#975024

83-512: Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington . As of the 2020 census , the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic . The county was created out of Stevens County in February 1899 and is named for Elisha P. Ferry , the state's first governor . The county

166-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be

249-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has

332-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of

415-465: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it

498-451: A group of citizens called for an investigation into possible election irregularities. The group claimed that two of that years voting precincts had been formed unlawfully in conjunction with misconduct in six precincts by election officers and the canvassing board. As a result of the actions, the validity of two candidates were called in question. Demands were made that Thomas F. Barker, seeking re-election as sheriff, and John W. McCool, seeking

581-408: A household in the county was $ 30,388, and the median income for a family was $ 35,691. Males had a median income of $ 32,103 versus $ 23,371 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,019. About 13.30% of families and 19.00% of the population were below the poverty line , including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over. County-wide law enforcement is provided by

664-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,

747-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,

830-888: A matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses

913-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,

SECTION 10

#1732790734976

996-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during

1079-572: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with

1162-556: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Okanogan Highland BC Geographical Names , a service of the British Columbia Integrated Land Management Bureau, defines

1245-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In

1328-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population

1411-399: Is largely based on timber-extraction, and mining. Ferry County's topography and climate make it an ideal recreation destination, so tourism has become a significant portion of the county's economy. Washington State Highway 20, designated a National Scenic Highway, crosses the county east–west, and has the state's highest navigable pass (5,575 feet above sea level). The county seat, Republic,

1494-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in

1577-782: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by

1660-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of

1743-562: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same

SECTION 20

#1732790734976

1826-503: Is the site of the Stonerose Interpretive Center and Fossil Site , which exhibits and explains Eocene-era fossils from an ancient lake bed north of Republic. Anderson's Grocery is the main grocery of northern Ferry County, having been in operation since 1900, and never burning down. As of the 2010 census , there were 7,551 people, 3,190 households, and 2,070 families living in the county. The population density

1909-506: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among

1992-652: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in

2075-709: The Canada–US border to its southernmost perimeter bounded by the Columbia River and Roosevelt Lake . Only a narrow north–south strip running the length of the county on the west between the Sanpoil River and the Okanogan County line encompasses part of the Okanogan Highland . Except for the town of Republic, the county is sparsely populated. The county has three major river systems, with

2158-458: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to

2241-768: The Kettle River . The western boundary is drawn arbitrarily and is somewhat difficult to define, because there are no natural features to follow between Penticton in the Okanagan Valley and Lumby in the Coldstream Valley. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources describes the "Okanogan Highlands" as a larger area, extending from east of the Cascade Mountains and north of the Columbia Basin into northern Idaho and

2324-603: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains

2407-566: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have

2490-576: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left

2573-825: The Shuswap Highland in British Columbia . This region includes FDR Reservoir (the impounded Columbia River above Grand Coulee Dam ), the Kettle River Range , and the southern portion of the Monashee Mountains . The highest summit in the Highland is Big White Mountain , at its northeastern extremity, which is also the highest summit of the Beaverdell Range , a mountain range which extends south from Big White between

Ferry County, Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue

2656-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with

2739-582: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite

2822-552: The United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as

2905-689: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government

2988-471: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does

3071-478: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia

3154-640: The 13 mile trail. Ferry County reaches to Canada on the north, and to the Columbia River on the east. Its southern portion is in the boundary of the Colville Indian Reservation , controlled by the Colville Confederated Tribes, and its northern portion is largely occupied by Colville National Forest . As a result, only eighteen percent of the total county area is taxable-use ground. The county's economy

3237-403: The 3,190 households, 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.1% were non-families, and 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 47.3 years. The median income for a household in

3320-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant

3403-461: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in

Ferry County, Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue

3486-997: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,

3569-855: The Colville Indian Reservation. Highway 20 crosses over the Kettle River Range along the southern shoulder of Sherman Peak at Sherman Pass , which at 5,575 feet (1,699 m) is highest mountain pass open all year in the state. Crossing the county east to west is the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail , which enters the county along the Boulder pass highway, turns south along the Kettle Crest National Recreation Trail and turns west again along

3652-578: The County Treasurer seat, be barred from the ballot. Barker was notably facing charges at the federal level at that time from allegations of conspiring and abetting bootleggers . The original county courthouse, made of wood, burned in 1934. Its replacement, made of concrete and stucco, was under consideration beginning in 2018 for historical preservation. On August 13, 2001, a series of major wildfires and complexes were ignited by regional lightning storms passing over eastern Washington. Among them

3735-627: The Ferry County Sheriff Office which is headquartered in Republic. Henry Waisman was the county's first sheriff, appointed by the county commissioners following the county's 1899 organization, with a mandate to serve until the first general election in 1900. The county's first elected sheriff was A.E. Stewart. The sheriff in 2016 was Ray Maycumber. 48°28′N 118°31′W  /  48.47°N 118.51°W  / 48.47; -118.51 County (United States) In

3818-720: The Okanagan Highland as an area extending southward from the Shuswap River and the Coldstream Valley, east of Vernon, British Columbia , for 85 miles to the 49th parallel and into the State of Washington, lying between the Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Thompson Plateau and the Okanagan Valley on the west. The eastern boundary of the Okanagan Highland is clearly defined by the valley of

3901-655: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by

3984-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number

4067-479: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while

4150-690: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in

4233-595: The US just east of the Lauier border crossing and is the northern section of the Ferry-Stevens county Border before joining with the Columbia River north of Barney's Junction . The southern and south central part of the county from just south of Curlew Lake is all drained by the south flowing Sanpoil River, which joins Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake at the southern tip of the county south of Keller . Southwest of Republic in

SECTION 50

#1732790734976

4316-489: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county

4399-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called

4482-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,

4565-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration

4648-463: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in

4731-440: The county was $ 35,485 and the median income for a family was $ 43,576. Males had a median income of $ 41,755 versus $ 30,972 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 18,021. About 13.6% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2000 census , there were 7,260 people, 2,823 households, and 1,987 families living in

4814-407: The county. The population density was 3 inhabitants per square mile (1.2/km). There were 3,775 housing units at an average density of 2 units per square mile (0.77 units/km). The racial makeup of the county was 75.48% White , 0.21% Black or African American , 18.28% Native American , 0.29% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 2.23% from other races , and 3.46% from two or more races. 2.82% of

4897-715: The eastern edge of the Okanogan highlands is a group of four recreational lakes, Swan Lake, Ferry Lake, Fish Lake, and Long Lake in Colville National Forest land, while the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is accessible on the eastern edges of the county. The highest peaks in the county are located along the crest of the Kettle River Range and are part of either the Colville National Forest or

4980-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both

5063-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which

SECTION 60

#1732790734976

5146-626: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;

5229-594: The impounded Columbia Rivers Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake forming the southern and most of the eastern county boundary. Along the northern border, the Kettle River drops south into the county near the Midway, British Columbia border crossing, before turning north again at Curlew to cross into Canada at the Danville border crossing. It swings south again on the eastern side of the Kettle River Range and passes into

5312-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as

5395-598: The land from the Columbia River west to the Cascades and north of the Wenatchee River. On January 20, 1864, the original territorial Spokane County was dissolved and merged with the unorganized Stevens County. On February 2, 1888 the western expanse of territorial Stevens County was sectioned off by dividing the county in half along the Okanogan Highlands crest. Eleven years later, on February 18, 1899,

5478-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City

5561-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by

5644-686: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to

5727-442: The midline of the Columbia River ; and on the east by Stevens County, again along the Columbia River and then Kettle River midlines. According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 2,257 square miles (5,850 km), of which 2,203 square miles (5,710 km) is land and 54 square miles (140 km) (2.4%) is water. Most of Ferry County is covered by the rugged Kettle River Range , which extends from

5810-521: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name

5893-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control

5976-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of

6059-551: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.1% were of German , 9.5% United States or American, 9.1% Irish , and 7.6% English ancestry. 96.7% spoke English and 1.9% Spanish as their first language. There were 2,823 households, out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who

6142-582: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there

6225-556: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by

6308-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than

6391-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,

6474-473: The western section of Stevens County was again sectioned off, this time along the Columbia, to form Ferry County. The town of Republic is the county's seat of government, as well as the largest town. It was founded at the end of the nineteenth century by gold prospectors and was incorporated in 1900. The original election precinct of Republic was created on April 6, 1898. Following the 1922 primary elections,

6557-510: Was 3.4 inhabitants per square mile (1.3/km). There were 4,403 housing units at an average density of 2.0 per square mile (0.77/km). The racial makeup of the county was 76.3% white, 16.7% American Indian, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.2% from other races, and 4.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.0% were German , 18.0% were English , 12.3% were Irish , and 3.7% were American . Of

6640-459: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.90% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 29.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 107.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.20 males. The median income for

6723-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,

6806-568: Was first slated by the state government to be named "Eureka County", but was revised while the bill was in discussion to "Ferry County" in recognition of the Territory's last governor and the State's first governor, Elisha P. Ferry . The change is suggested to have happened as a bookend to the naming of Stevens County , named for the first governor of Washington Territory . The Territorial Legislature of Washington Territory first carved Stevens County from Walla Walla County in 1863 to encompass all

6889-565: Was the Mount Leona Fire which burned for several weeks and encompassed over 6,000 acres in the central Kettle River range northeast of Curlew Lake . Ferry County is bordered on the north by the Kootenay Boundary Regional District, British Columbia , Canada, along the 49th parallel; to the west by Okanogan County along the boundary between ranges 31 and 32 east; to the south by Lincoln County in

#975024