County seat war
A county seat war is an American phenomenon that occurred mainly in the
History
The fight between Coronado and neighboring Leoti in western Kansas is considered the bloodiest occurrence of this phenomenon. Leoti hired lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson from Dodge City, Kansas to help win the fight.
Another violent county seat war in Kansas resulted in the
Yet another Kansas county seat war resulted in the dissolution of a county when Eminence and
In Colorado, a silver mining boom in Grand County led to the escalation of violence when the county seat was changed from Hot Sulphur Springs to Grand Lake in 1881. Tensions increased until in 1883, a shootout in Grand Lake led to the deaths of three county commissioners and the county clerk. The county sheriff, who had shot one of the pro-Grand Lake officials in the incident, wound up killing himself soon after the event. The county seat was moved back to Hot Sulphur Springs in 1888.[3]
By the late 19th century, battles over county seats were settled in elections that saw
In Spokane County, an armed mob from Cheney forcibly seized county records from the elected seat of Spokane Falls (now Spokane), in 1881. Spokane became the county seat in an 1886 election.[6]
See also
- Coal Wars
- Railroad Wars
- Range war
- Sheep Wars
References
- ^ Mason, Henry F. "County Seat Controversies in Southwestern Kansas" The Kansas Historical Quarterly 2:1 (February 1933) 45-65. (retrieved from The Kansas Collection August 29, 2006)
- ^ Thrane, Susan W. County Courthouses of Ohio. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000, 119.
- ^ "Grand County". Grand County. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ Becker, Paula (September 24, 2006). "Lincoln County voters choose Davenport over Sprague as county seat on November 3, 1896". HistoryLink. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ Humphrey, Robert (January 9, 1992). "When Everett 'stole' the county courthouse". The Seattle Times. p. F4. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ Kershner, Jim (August 11, 2007). "Armed Cheney citizens forcibly remove the county seat from Spokane Falls to Cheney on March 21, 1881". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 21, 2017.