In much of the United States, counties function as an arm of state government. They also play a decisive role in the delivery of basic services to people at a local level. Understanding that, sometimes a researcher knows the name of a town but not its associated county.
As the National Association of Counties explains,
“Traditionally, counties performed state-mandated duties, which included assessment of property, record keeping (e.g., property and vital statistics), maintenance or rural road, administration of election and judicial functions, and poor relief. Today, counties rapidly are moving into other areas, undertaking programs relating to child welfare, consumer protection, economic development, employment/training, planning and zoning, and water quality, to name just a few.”
In the past I would squint over a dog-eared AAA road atlas. Then I’d try to line up and decipher the light blue county line markers. And let’s hope the map maker drew them accurately!
Eventually online mapping applications made the job easier. However, not every service provided county borders. Still, it involved a great deal of zooming in and out to find county labels.
Then I found a better tool
Now I use NACO’s City Search. This search capability allows anyone to quickly find the county where the town or city sits. It also allows users to find all cities in a state or county, and postal zip codes by county. It is quick and intuitive, and is a utility worth bookmarking for future reference.
I’ve used it extensively to help me track United States Counties that I have Visited. I have also used it to help determine county designations for various genealogy designations. However, bear in mind that county borders do change over time. So be sure to cross reference it with with another tool I’ve written about previously: The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
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