William Evelyn Cameron (November 29, 1842 – January 25, 1927) was a Confederate soldier who became a Virginia lawyer , journalist , and politician . He served as the 39th Governor of Virginia from 1882–1886, elected as the candidate of the Readjuster Party headed by William Mahone .
88-559: Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews . Located on the Middle Peninsula , Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach - Norfolk - Newport News , VA- NC Metropolitan Statistical Area . During Virginia's colonial era , the area that later became Mathews County was part of Gloucester County . In 1691,
176-1054: 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
264-446: 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
352-424: 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
440-465: 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
528-425: A household in the county was $ 43,222, and the median income for a family was $ 50,653. Males had a median income of $ 36,294 versus $ 23,434 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 23,610. 6.00% of the population and 4.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.50% are under the age of 18 and 4.80% are 65 or older. Tourism, leisure, and fishing industries are
616-400: 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,
704-453: 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,
792-684: A lawsuit begun in 1806, Jackey Wright of Mathews County was granted her freedom from prominent landowner Holder Hudgins due to her grandmother's Native American ancestry in one of the last cases decided by Judge George Wythe , with a Virginia Supreme Court opinion by St. George Tucker . During the American Civil War , many men from Mathews County enlisted in the Confederate Army. Some Union sympathizers petitioned President Abraham Lincoln for help, alleging that Confederate sympathizers had harassed them. Union forces by 1862 controlled
880-888: 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
968-572: A militia group in his native Petersburg. His militia company did not re-elect him during its reorganization. Instead, on May 1, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant and appointed regimental adjutant. Severely wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run on September 30, 1862, Cameron was temporarily promoted to captain and assistant adjutant general upon returning to duty in June 1863. He would serve under Brigadier General William Mahone throughout
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#17327836356721056-415: 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 ,
1144-600: Is Gwynn's Island , a popular spot for recreational boating and sailing. It is located where the Piankatank River feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. Nearby is the offshore location of the historic New Point Comfort Light . Mathews County hosts the annual Tour De Chesapeake (due to its lack of hills except for the north section of the county near the Mathews-Gloucester border). The bicycling event
1232-428: 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
1320-572: 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
1408-495: Is a benefit for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation . The community also sponsors Mathews Market Days, featuring local artists such as P. Buckley Moss . Mathews High School is known for success in several sports including Boy's and Girl's Crew Teams, Boys and Girls Cross Country, Volleyball, Wrestling, Softball, and Track and Field. The Mathews wrestling team won the 1990 and 1991 state championship, boys track won
1496-698: 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). William E. Cameron William Evelyn Cameron was born in Petersburg, Virginia . His parents were cotton-broker Walker Anderson Cameron and Elizabeth Page Walker. He attended local private classical schools operated by Charles Campbell and Thomas D. Davidson before being sent to Hillsboro, North Carolina , to attend
1584-477: Is bordered by Middlesex County to the north, separated by the Piankatank River and Gloucester County to the west. The southern side of the county borders Mobjack Bay . As of the census of 2010, there were 8,978 people, 3,932 households, and 2,823 families residing in the county. The population density was 108 inhabitants per square mile (42/km). There were 5,333 housing units at an average density of 62 units per square mile (24 units/km). The racial makeup of
1672-500: 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
1760-399: 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
1848-455: 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
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#17327836356721936-782: 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
2024-410: 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
2112-562: 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
2200-506: 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
2288-652: 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
2376-623: The American Civil War started, Cameron became a drillmaster with the Missouri Minute Men at Camp Jackson. On May 9, 1861, U.S. Army captain Nathaniel Lyon dispersed the secessionists during what became known as the Camp Jackson affair , during which Cameron was captured but soon released. Returning to Virginia on June 14, 1861, Cameron was elected as the second lieutenant of Co D, 12th Virginia Infantry , formerly
2464-458: 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
2552-801: The Great Depression began, voters elected Emma Lee Smith White , wife of local physician Dr. Carl Clifford White, to represent them in the Virginia General Assembly . As a local insurance agent, among other jobs, she had other priorities after a hurricane and 100-year level flooding devastated Mathews County in August 1933. No woman again sat in the Virginia General Assembly for 21 years. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy also devastated Mathews County, and while rebuilding, officials decided to petition to have
2640-603: 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
2728-566: 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
Mathews County, Virginia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-742: The North Carolina Military Institute in 1858. The following year he attended Washington College in St. Louis, Missouri , then became a clerk on a Mississippi River steamboat. Tutored By then Captain John F. Reynolds, Cameron received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York , but did not attend, choosing to fight for the Confederacy against the U.S. Army. When
2904-576: 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
2992-572: The Readjuster Party led by his former commander, William Mahone. Petersburg voters elected him mayor and re-elected him several times, so he served from 1876 to 1882. In 1881 , he was the gubernatorial candidate of the Readjuster Party and elected governor with biracial support defeating John Warwick Daniel (who represented the state Funder faction, a group who wanted to pay the debt and its interest in whole) by nearly 6% of
3080-543: The Richmond Enquirer and Richmond Whig . In 1869, Cameron fought a duel with Robert William Hughes after Cameron criticized Hughes in print for opportunism: he had changed his political views from pre-war Secessionist to post-war Republican. According to the writer Frank Luther Mott , [T]he parties met at Chester Station, on the Petersburg Railroad ; but, before they could exchange a shot,
3168-476: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 252 square miles (650 km), of which 86 square miles (220 km) is land and 166 square miles (430 km) (65.9%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Virginia by land area. Mathews County is perhaps best known for its miles of waterfront sites, as well as its prominent location on the Chesapeake Bay. Surrounded almost completely by water, it
3256-437: 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
3344-582: 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
3432-552: 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
3520-689: 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
3608-749: The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901–1902 . At this time, the Democrat-dominated legislature created a disfranchising constitution and essentially ended black voting. The Republican Party , which had made a brief and small comeback after the collapse of the Readjusters, ceased to be competitive in the state. Cameron edited the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper from 1906 to 1919. William Evelyn Cameron died on January 25, 1927, at
Mathews County, Virginia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-564: The Virginia General Assembly had directed that each county designate an official port-of-entry. Established around 1700, the community of Westville was located along Put-in Creek , a tidal tributary of Virginia's East River feeding into Mobjack Bay , which was a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. In 1776 during the American Revolutionary War , Virginia's last Royal Governor , Lord Dunmore , left Virginia after pushed to
3784-625: The War of 1812 , British vessels anchored in Hampton Roads and raided adjacent areas. Farming was important to the 19th century economy, and early in the century Edmund Ruffin introduced the use of limestone marl as fertilizer on fields worn out from tobacco crops. Two Mathews County men implicated in Gabriel's Rebellion in 1802 were sentenced to transportation out of the Commonwealth. In
3872-471: 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
3960-478: 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
4048-585: The 1969 and 1986 state championships, the Mathews baseball team won the state championship in 2004, and the volleyball team won two consecutive state championships in 2011 and 2012. The Mathews crew team has also won many championships for Mathews including the Stotesbury Cup. Captain Sally Tompkins was a Mathews County native. Gwynn's Island resident William B. Livermon Sr. appeared throughout
4136-623: The 1970s on television in religion segments as "The Circuit Rider ". Mathews is also home to former NFL football player Stuart Anderson (football) of the Washington Redskins and baseball player Keith Atherton of the Minnesota Twins . Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono once owned two historic waterfront estates in Mathews. 37°25′N 76°17′W / 37.42°N 76.28°W / 37.42; -76.28 County (United States) In
4224-451: 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
4312-461: 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
4400-997: 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,
4488-491: The Commonwealth. During World War I, Mathews County greatly exceeded its quota of volunteers. In addition to fatalities, several men were disabled by gas attacks at the battlefront, and later relayed their stories. Many Mathews county seamen also served in the Merchant Marine. The war also changed economic relations within the county, for farm laborers could get better paying jobs in Hampton Roads or nearby cities. As
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#17327836356724576-591: The Hampton Roads area and in July 1862 a detachment of Pennsylvania cavalry arrived at Gloucester Court House, then went to Mathews to arrest Carter B. Hudgins, but were unsuccessful. Several other Union raids occurred beginning in September 1863, initially designed to disrupt Confederate salt works. However, in the October 1863 raid, Union General Wistar later reported some of his troops behaved very badly, and Sands Smith
4664-655: 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
4752-473: 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
4840-479: 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
4928-690: 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
5016-489: 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
5104-402: 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
5192-410: 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,
5280-421: 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
5368-463: 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
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#17327836356725456-554: The county was 88.0% White , 9.2% Black or African American , 0.2% Native American , 0.3% Asian , 0.3% from other races , and 1.9% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 3,932 households, out of which 24.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who
5544-399: 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
5632-461: 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
5720-626: 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 ;
5808-405: 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
5896-560: 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
5984-416: 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
6072-399: The major sources of employment. Mathews County is one of the few counties in Virginia without a traffic signal. ( Bath County is another.) Along State Route 223 at Gwynn's Island, there is a small drawbridge which is staffed 24 hours daily. As of 2016 the largest self-identified ancestries/ethnicities in Mathews county are: Prominent among Mathews County tourism and leisure locations
6160-686: 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
6248-521: 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
6336-424: 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
6424-551: The ongoing Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay , capturing seven ships. The state had attempted to license and control traffic in the popular seafood, but 5,800 Virginia oyster boats often disregarded laws related to trying to preserve the harvest. An attempt at a repeat raid the following year ended in Cameron's steamships unsuccessfully racing the "laughing lasses" of the pirate sailboat Dancing Molly . His embarrassment
6512-448: 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
6600-430: The police made their appearance, and caused a flight of the parties. They passed into North Carolina , where they fought on the 12th of June with pistols. Cameron was hit in the breast at the first fire, the ball striking a rib and glancing. Hughes demanded another fire, but the surgeons declared that Cameron could not deliver another shot, and the affair ended 'to the satisfaction of all parties.' Cameron became active in
6688-582: 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
6776-491: The rest of the war, with his rank confirmed on November 2, 1863. After the war, Cameron returned to Petersburg, where he married Louisa Clarinda Egerton (1846–1908) on October 1, 1868. They had three children. Cameron read the law under Judge William T. Joynes and was admitted to the Virginia bar. Although Cameron began a legal practice, he also began a newspaper career, editing first the Petersburg Index , then
6864-571: The southeast to Gwynn's Island by General Andrew Lewis and the Continental Army . General Lewis' forces bombarded Gwynn's Island from Fort Cricket Hill . In 1791, after Virginia gained its independence from Great Britain , the Virginia General Assembly split Gloucester county and created Mathews County. The county was named for Brigadier General Thomas Mathews , then speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates . Westville
6952-556: 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
7040-421: 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
7128-399: 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,
7216-534: The town center declared a historic district. It received nomination from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 2016. The Mathews County Courthouse Square has been recognized as a National Historic District since 1977, and the Sibley's and James Store Historic District (consisting of two 19th-century general stores) has been recognized as a National Historic District since 2011. According to
7304-483: The vote. During his term from 1882–1886, he attempted to implement his party's debt reduction programs and racial integration in certain areas. In 1882 it led to the passage of legislation for a land-grant college for blacks, what is now Virginia State University in Ettrick , near Petersburg. On February 17, 1882, Cameron personally led a successful anti- oyster pirate expedition of two boats and armed state militia in
7392-458: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.75. In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.90% under the age of 18, 5.20% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 30.10% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.70 males. The median income for
7480-514: Was compounded by the fact that none of the alleged pirates captured in the second raid were convicted, but Cameron persevered and helped form the Board on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries to enforce oyster law. After his term as governor ended in 1886, Cameron briefly left Virginia. He returned and resumed a career in politics, but as a conservative Democrat . Cameron represented Petersburg in
7568-521: Was designated at the county seat (later it became known variously as Mathews Court House or simply Mathews). Seaborne commerce, fishing and oyster farming had always been important in the area and Old Point Comfort Lighthouse was built in 1802 to guide vessels into the Hampton Roads seaport (along with the older lighthouse at Cape Henry). Two additional lighthouses were built slightly later: New Point Comfort Light and Smith Point Light . During
7656-440: 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,
7744-530: Was executed after he shot a Union soldier attempting to confiscate his cow. His son and grandson would become prominent Mathews County officials by century's end. In 1882–1886, complaints about out-of-state watermen dredging local oyster beds (and destroying young oysters) produced an "oyster war" during the administration of Virginia Governor William E. Cameron . Several offending boats were captured, but all but one of their watermen were from Virginia's Eastern shore (across Chesapeake Bay) rather than from outside
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