Category: U.S. Counties
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What counts as a visit?
Every once in awhile this geo-oddity hobby of our gets some positive attention. The County Counting blog — one I follow regularly and include on my blogrole in the left column of this website — has a copy of a Boston Globe article that appeared recently. The article is called: “For those who keep a…
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Texas: Is Everything Really Bigger?
I’ve been to Texas many times. I have family there, I have business there, and I’ve driven across its width. I don’t underestimate its gargantuan size. There’s a reason why “Everything is Bigger in Texas” has become such an iconic boast that borders on cliché. If Texas were still a country as it was when…
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Big Tom the Turkey
What do you do when you’re only the second largest city in Becker County, Minnesota? You focus on your strengths of course. So what object might properly honor a robust rural heritage, provide an iconic emblem of efficient poultry production and attract connoisseurs and aficionados of roadside kitsch from around the globe? The natural choice…
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Restaurant Split by 3 Counties
NOTE: IN 2015 I VISITED FAMOUS LOUISE’S IN PERSON! A restaurant sitting atop the intersection of three different counties? If I were ever to ever become a restaurateur, that would be the place that I’d have to own. Loyal reader Glenn from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina(1), has been following the Twelve Mile Circle for…
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Rambling Along the Taylor-Rose Segment
I derive inspiration from odd places. Recently I stumbled across a simple notation on a chart, no more than a throwaway comment really, and it fascinated me. I noticed a brief history of Highway 183 on the US Highways website,(1) “Since 1930; original route North Platte, NE – Dresden, KS, extended north to Vivian, SD…
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Independent Cities (the Water Tower Tour)
An independent city in the United States is a rare form of government. In broad general terms, the county is the tertiary or local level of government.(1) An independent city belongs to no county and derives its authority directly from the State. This is true even if it happens to be surrounded entirely by a…
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More County Counters
The comedian Groucho Marx reputedly stated, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” I must profess more than a passing sympathy with that point of view. I’ve never been much of a joiner, and I prefer to follow solo pursuits. This very blog is an example. I…
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1,000!
Why is this man standing here foolishly next to an otherwise nondescript road sign, waist-high in weeds by a railroad track? What is so special about Crawford County, Wisconsin? Well, nothing much, although I’m sure its residents would say otherwise. Actually this was a very special location for me. It represented the 1,000th county in…
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Split in Two: St. Martin Parish
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana poses an odd situation (map). Neighboring Iberia Parish jabs straight through the middle of St. Martin and cleaves it into two completely different portions separated by several miles. The St. Martin Parish Clerk of the Court explains that, “In 1868, Iberia Parish was formed from parts of St. Martin and St.…
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The Largest Smallest US County (a.k.a. it sucks getting old)
Did yesterday’s dispatch seem a little shorter than usual? That’s because it was half the length I’d intended. To summarize briefly, each of the fifty United States has a smallest and a largest county. Yesterday I featured the largest of those smallest counties. Today I’ll take the opposite tack and present the smallest of the…