County seat war
A county seat war is an American phenomenon that occurred mainly in the Old West as it was being settled[1] and county lines determined. Incidents elsewhere, such as in Michigan, Appalachian Ohio, and West Virginia, have also been recorded.[2] As new towns sprang up and county lines were drawn, there was intense competition for the status and tax benefits bestowed by becoming a county seat. These "wars" often involved nothing more than lining up at the ballot box, but sometimes partisans for a particular town would resort to voter fraud, intimidation, or violence.
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 Hay Meadow Massacre in Stevens County.
Yet another Kansas county seat war resulted in the dissolution of a county when Eminence and Ravanna fought over the privilege of being the county seat for Garfield County. When people in the county suggested the county be surveyed, it was found that it was too small to be a legal county under a Kansas law established in the late 19th century (Wyandotte County had been founded before this law was passed). Garfield County was then dissolved and annexed into Finney County, which is why that county has a panhandle.
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 voter fraud, intimidation, and heated debates, as seen in the relocation of several Washington county seats in the late 19th century: Lincoln County from Sprague to Davenport, and Snohomish County from Snohomish to Everett.[4][5]
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
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.
External links
- West Virginia newspaper clips about county seat wars
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- Gunfight at Hide Park
- Goingsnake massacre
- Battle of Bates Point
- Gunfight at Blazer's Mill
- Battle of Lincoln (1878)
- Variety Hall shootout
- Mussel Slough Tragedy
- Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight
- Guadalupe Canyon Massacre
- Battle of the Plaza
- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
- Trinidad Gunfight
- Vaudeville Theater ambush
- Hunnewell gunfight
- Frisco shootout
- Battle of Cimarron
- Battle of Stone Corral
- Battle of Tres Jacales
- Battle of Ingalls
- Gunfight at Morenci
- Blackwell gunfight
- Shootout on Juneau Wharf
- Hot Springs gunfight
- Shootout at Wilson Ranch
- Gunfight in Moab
- Battleground Gunfight
- Chinese Massacre Cove
- Big Fight at the Jenkins Saloon
- Thibodaux massacre
- Gunfight at Spokogee
- Canyon Diablo shootout
- Shootout in Benson
- Naco Gunfight
- Battle of Eufaula
- Shootout in Sonoratown
- Gleeson gunfight
- Power's Cabin shootout
- Skeleton Canyon shootout
showdowns
- Broderick–Terry duel
- Sandbar Fight
- Hickok–Tutt Shootout
- Duels of Jim Levy
- Duels of Tom Carberry
- Short–Courtright Shootout
- Bull–Peel duel
- Mart Duggan duel
- Anderson-McCluskie duel
- Canton–Dunn Shootout
- Long Branch Saloon gunfight
- South Pass Shootout
- Walker–Graham duel
- Burton Mossman duel
- Silks–Fultom duel
- Higgins–Standifer duel
- Western Code Duello
- Railroad Wars
- County seat war
- Tutt–Everett War
- Regulator–Moderator War
- Lincoln County War
- Lee–Peacock feud
- Sutton–Taylor feud
- Horrell–Higgins feud
- Brooks–Baxter War
- Colorado Railroad War
- Earp Vendetta Ride
- Dodge City War
- Flynn–Doran feud
- Gray County War
- Jaybird–Woodpecker War
- Enid–Pond Creek Railroad War
- Brooks–McFarland feud
- Reese–Townsend feud
- McIntosh County Seat War
- Deschutes Railroad War
- Boyce–Sneed feud
- Placer County Railroad War
- Bellevue War
- Colorado Labor Wars
- Idaho labor strike
wars
- Jonathan R. Davis Gunfight
- Northfield Bank Robbery
- Skeleton Canyon massacres
- Battle of Coffeyville
- Canyon Diablo Train Robbery
- Wham Paymaster robbery
- Black Bart Robberies
- Fairbank Train Robbery
- Gage Train Robbery
- Big Springs Robbery
- Overland Flyer Train Robbery
- Baxter's Curve Train Robbery
- Jarbidge Stage Robbery
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