Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Government

  • The Transpeninsular Line

    I’ve been traveling recently, in fact, I’ve been closer to the Twelve Mile Circle than I’ve been in quite some time. During those travels I was able to stop by the Transpeninsular Line. In this blog I discuss various odd geographic topics that happen to interest me. The Transpeninsular Line is certainly one of those.…

  • Smallest County in the USA, Part 4

    Today we crown the “Smallest County in the United States.” As noted in Parts 1 through 3 in this series, serious problems arose with the three smallest geographical units called counties (Kalawao County, Hawaii, New York County, New York and Bristol County, Rhode Island). Those three are counties in name only. They have no independently…

  • Smallest County in the USA, Part 2

    The previous article discussed why Kalawao County, Hawaii may not really be the smallest county in the United States. Essentially, it’s not actually a county except in name only. So let’s examine the next smallest counties by area, New York County in New York and Bristol in Rhode Island. As it turns out, they are…

  • Smallest County in the USA, Part 1

    What is the smallest county in the United States? It’s such a simple question but there are many ways to approach it. It really depends. Would it be the smallest parcel of land that actually carries the title “county?” Does it require a distinct, functional government with specific attributes? What about independent cities that provide…

  • USA States Called Commonwealths

    The term “Commonwealth” breaks down into two basic components to understand its meaning. The “common” portion refers to the people or to the public. Meanwhile, “wealth” refers to well being or welfare. So commonwealth is a system of government that performs in the interests and well being of the people. It exists through their consent…

  • First Votes in New Hampshire Presidential Primary and Election

    Crawford Notch (map), and its primary community Hart’s Location, form an 11 mile by 1.5 mile protrusion outward from the northwest corner of New Hampshire’s Carroll County (see my previous entry on the irregular borders of Carroll County). However, it’s not a worthless appendix. It provides an important passageway through the White Mountains as it…

  • Library of Congress’ Waldseemüller Map

    Reuters reports that the only remaining copy of the map that first used the label “America” will go on permanent display at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC (map). Martin Waldseemüller created the map in 1507 and it displayed unusual accuracy for its time. However, experts haven’t figured out exactly how Waldseemüller may have…