Most Americans give little thought to their county's size, population,
when it was created, or how its name came about. But such information
can be very helpful to anyone, particularly researchers and
genealogists, investigating local or state history. Drawing on
information obtained from the 2010 Census, the 6th edition of The
American Counties provides up-to-date data on each county's: -land area
-population -county seat -date of creation -name origin -dates of
governmental organization, elimination, and re-creation This edition
includes information on counties created since the previous edition was
published as well as more precise "date of creation" details for many
colonial counties. If a county is named for a geographical
feature-river, mountain, lake, etc.-the origin of the name and the
meaning of any Indian or foreign words is provided. For those counties
that were named after a specific individual, a brief sketch of the
person's life is provided, including updated biographical information
from previous editions. The Introduction has been expanded to address
such topics as counties with similar names, persons who have more than
one namesake county, the paucity of counties named for women, the
practice of creating counties in uninhabited regions, and legislators
naming counties for each other. At the request of many readers, the 6th
edition contains new appendices ranking all counties nationally by
population and area, as well as an appendix listing counties that have
been eliminated. Containing information on all 3,143 counties and county
equivalents (independent cities, parishes, boroughs, etc.) in the United
States, the 6th edition of The American Counties is an essential
resource for researchers looking for basic information on counties in
the United States.
