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Very interesting article. I'm from Iowa and I always knew we had a lot of counties (99), but didn't realize there were states with so many more. IIRC, the ratio
by viggity 12y ago
Very interesting article. I'm from Iowa and I always knew we had a lot of counties (99), but didn't realize there were states with so many more. IIRC, the rationale for making all of our counties roughly the same size is that the state founders wanted everyone to be within a one day horse ride to the county seat so that it was easy to vote.
- gumby 12y agoThe same theory was responsible for the French département system, set up by the revolutionary government in 1791 and still a fundamental organizing structure today. I presume the Iowans were following the French example.
- maxerickson 12y agoA lot of counties fell out of the Public Land Survey System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System (it looks like many Iowa counties are roughly the size of a Quadrangle)