A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil parish . The term is in use in five countries: Canada , China , Hungary , Romania , and the United States . An equivalent term, shire town , is used in the U.S. state of Vermont and in several other English-speaking jurisdictions, such as Venezuela .
31-498: Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina , United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 census . As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . Settled by indigenous peoples for thousands of years, the area of Moncks Corner was occupied by the historic Edistow people,
62-531: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending
93-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in
124-667: A county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of
155-584: A sub-tribe of the Cusabo tribes. Its various bands shared a language distinct from that of the major language families in the present-day state: Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian, including Cherokee. Although now extinct as a tribe, Etiwan, Edisto, Cherokee, and Catawba descendants make up the eight families of the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians , a community located between Moncks Corner and Summerville . The 1,500-member tribe were recognized by
186-581: A total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized
217-598: Is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of
248-639: Is also the home of Santee Cooper 's corporate office complex. The Biggin Church Ruins , Cooper River Historic District , Lewisfield Plantation , Mulberry Plantation , Santee Canal , and Strawberry Chapel and Childsbury Town Site are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Moncks Corner is located near the center of Berkeley County at 33°12′N 80°0′W / 33.200°N 80.000°W / 33.200; -80.000 (33.1966, -80.0067). Its boundary extends east to
279-478: Is named for landowner Thomas Monck, a slaveholder who branded his runaway slaves on their chest with his name "T Monck." The town began as a trading post with a few taverns and stores. The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought here in 1780, associated with the Siege of Charleston . The Northeastern Railroad, which ran between Charleston, South Carolina , and Siler City, North Carolina , laid its tracks in 1856, and
310-431: Is similar to Charleston in regards of the said climate, which Moncks Corner is a suburb of. However, due to the distance from the coast compared to Charleston, it is noticeably hotter in the summer. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 13,297 people, 3,774 households, and 2,796 families residing in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 5,952 people, 2,103 households, and 1,491 families residing in
341-752: The People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when
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#1732779742099372-542: The Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of
403-522: The United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in
434-411: The provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in
465-561: The West Branch of the Cooper River , 3 miles (5 km) south of the outlet of Lake Moultrie . US 52 is the main highway through the town, leading south 32 miles (51 km) to Charleston and north 80 miles (130 km) to Florence . US 17 Alt also passes through the town, leading east 49 miles (79 km) to Georgetown and southwest 16 miles (26 km) to Summerville . SC 6 leads northwest from Moncks Corner along
496-404: The average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males. The median income for a household in the town
527-495: The county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated,
558-491: The county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of the county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where
589-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for
620-625: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford
651-408: The population. There were 2,103 households, out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and
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#1732779742099682-569: The south and west sides of Lakes Moultrie and Marion 39 miles (63 km) to I-95 at Santee . According to the United States Census Bureau , Moncks Corner has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km), of which 7.3 square miles (18.9 km) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km), or 1.81%, is water. Moncks Corner is a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification system. It
713-607: The state as an Indian Tribe in 2009. During the colonial era, Moncks Corner became a major settlement area of French Protestant Huguenots , who came to South Carolina between 1684 and 1688 as refugees due to religious persecution in France. Many family surnames in Berkeley and adjacent counties are of French origin. The Huguenots soon began to intermarry with the English colonists. The town of Moncks Corner dates back to 1728 and
744-777: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of
775-580: The term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of
806-426: The town. The population density was 1,333.1 inhabitants per square mile (514.7/km). There were 2,334 housing units at an average density of 522.8 per square mile (201.9/km). The racial makeup of the town was 57.33% White , 36.59% African American , 0.64% Native American , 0.55% Asian , 0.05% Pacific Islander , 2.97% from other races , and 1.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.20% of
837-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of
868-620: The train depot became the center of the new town of Moncks Corner. The town of Moncks Corner was chartered on December 26, 1885, and incorporated December 15, 1909. Moncks Corner was granted the trademark "Capital of Santee Cooper Country" by the South Carolina Secretary of State September 9, 1999, and again October 21, 2004. The trademark is a symbol of its abundant outdoor activities, such as horseback riding, hiking, water sports, boating and freshwater fishing. Moncks Corner
899-544: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,
930-539: Was $ 31,711, and the median income for a family was $ 37,335. Males had a median income of $ 30,634 versus $ 21,796 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 15,202. About 16.5% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over. Moncks Corner has a public library, a branch of the Berkeley County Library System. County seat In Canada ,
961-498: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Interstate 95 in South Carolina Too Many Requests If you report this error to