In the first installment I discussed various Louisiana Parishes that shared the same root name, differing only by the addition of an east or a west directional prefix. I noted that sharing of county or county-equivalent names in this manner was surprisingly rare in the United States. The only other place where one sees this happen is in Alaska. However, even there it requires asterisks and explanations.
Aleutians East and West
On the surface this would seem to be the most clear-cut Alaskan example of the phenomenon. The Aleutian Islands form a 1,200 mile (1,900 kilometre) chain of volcanic isles extending west of the Alaska Peninsula, separating the Bering Sea from the Pacific Ocean. Imagine the difficulty of administering such a long, skinny, sparsely inhabited region. So it seems to make some intuitive sense to split it into pieces.
While the units have similar names, pay particular attention to the difference too: (1) Aleutians East Borough (map); versus (2) Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough (map).
Boroughs Continue to Form
Alaska is the sole remaining U.S. state where the tertiary level of government continues to form. There are occasional county changes in the Lower 48 too; the creation of Broomfield County in Colorado in 2001 comes to mind. However, by-and-large it’s rather static.
But a different situation exists in Alaska. Early in its statehood, Alaska passed the Borough Act of 1961 which created a single unorganized borough that covered the entire state. Slowly, from within the vastness of that great landmass, boroughs emerged and continue to be born.
Acreage not falling within a borough remains within the unorganized borough, an area that’s larger than any state besides Alaska itself. Here, local government does not exist except for a few school systems and a handful of widely-scattered incorporated towns. The State of Alaska provides basic services to residents of the unorganized borough directly in all other areas of life.
Then the Federal government and the State of Alaska decided to break the unorganized borough into several sections for purposes of the 1970 Census, a practice that continues today. The designations exist solely for statistical purposes. Each Alaskan Census Area of the Unorganized Borough is considered a “county equivalent” unit. However, they still do not represent units of governance.
Thus, it’s hard to say if Aleutians East and Aleutians West actually reflects the referenced geo-oddity since Aleutians West is part of the unorganized borough. So we’ll have to see if the name carries forward should it ever split from the unorganized borough.
An interesting point of trivia I uncovered about the Aleutians East Borough during my research: they don’t have a sales tax and they don’t have a property tax, but they do have a 2% raw fish tax, which serves to demonstrate the underpinning of their economy.
Southeast Fairbanks and Fairbanks North Star
A similar and even more tenuous situation exists for Southeast Fairbanks (map) and Fairbanks North Star (map). The Southeast Fairbanks Census Area is another designation of convenience within the greater unorganized borough. It doesn’t have much of a reason to organize anytime soon, either. There are barely 6,000 residents and it doesn’t have any incorporated towns.
Fairbanks North Star is anchored by the City of Fairbanks. The larger metropolitan area within the borough includes about 100,000 residents. That’s a huge deal in interior Alaska. Still, the northern designation in its name refers to the star rather than to Fairbanks proper. Thus it doesn’t even conform to the model we’re seeking for this little geo-oddity.
Totally Unrelated
Steve from CTMQ is planning a state highpoint trip that will include Oklahoma. In his research he’s learned that it’s located in Cimarron County, and further that “Cimarron is the only county in the United States that touches five states: Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and its own, Oklahoma.”
I think that’s pretty amazing. Can anyone confirm or refute that?
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