Independent city (United States)

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Independent city (Virginia)
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In the United States, an independent city is a city that is not in the territory of any

county equivalents" and may also have similar governmental powers to a consolidated city-county or a unitary authority. However, in the case of a consolidated city-county, a city and a county were merged into a unified jurisdiction in which the county at least nominally exists to this day, whereas an independent city was legally separated from any county or merged with a county that simultaneously ceased to exist even in name.[2]

Of the 41 independent U.S. cities,[3] 38 are in Virginia, whose state constitution makes them a special case. The three independent cities outside Virginia are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada. Baltimore is the most populous independent city in the United States.

Virginia

Sign marking the limits of Williamsburg, Virginia and James City County, Virginia. All cities in Virginia are independent from the counties that surround them.
Top 10 most populated cities in Virginia (2010).

History

In the

Commonwealth of Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as "cities" have been "independent cities", also called "free cities", since 1871, when a revised state constitution took effect following the American Civil War and the creation of West Virginia. Virginia's thirty-eight independent cities are not politically part of a county, even though geographically they may be completely surrounded by one. An independent city in Virginia may serve as the county seat of an adjacent county, even though the city by definition is not part of that county.[4] Some other Virginia municipalities, even though they may be more populous than some existing independent cities, are incorporated towns. These towns always form part of a county. Incorporated towns have limited powers, varying by each charter. They typically share many aspects such as courts and public school divisions
with the county they are within.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, there are two classes of city. The primary difference relates to the court system. A first-class city (e.g., Richmond) has its own

jury trials
are heard in a Circuit Court.

Three older Virginia counties, whose origins go back to the original eight shires of Virginia formed in 1634 in the Colony of Virginia, have or had the word city in their names; politically, however, they are counties. The independent cities were formed to centralize trading and legal matters as the older system of merchant ships cruising from plantation to plantation was inefficient. The colonial capital of Williamsburg was created for this reason, being a port on the James River. Two of these counties are Charles City County and James City County, whose names originated with earlier "incorporations" created in 1619 by the Virginia Company as Charles Cittie and James Cittie. Additionally, Elizabeth City County, which was originally part of the older Elizabeth Cittie, became extinct in 1952 when it was consolidated politically by mutual consent with the small City of Hampton, its county seat, and the Town of Phoebus. These merged entities became the current independent city of Hampton, Virginia, one of the largest cities of Virginia.

Former cities

Former independent cities, now extinct, that were long extant in Virginia include:

Two other independent cities existed only for a short time:

Other states

Other entities similar to independent cities

An independent city is not the same as:

See also

References

  1. ^ States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities, from the United States Census Bureau
  2. ^ a b Cities 101 -- Consolidations, from National League of Cities
  3. ^ "Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas; Change Notice No. 7". 2001. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
  4. ^ "Cities and Towns: Geography of Virginia". Virginiaplaces.org. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "Baltimore City, Maryland". Maryland Manual On-Line: A Guide to Maryland Government. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "About Carson City". Carson City. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "A Brief History of St. Louis". The City of St. Louis. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "2010 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities". Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.