Asparagus
Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name Asparagus officinalis, is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable, it was once classified in the lily family, like the related Allium species and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and asparagus in the Asparagaceae. Sources differ as to the native range of Asparagus officinalis, but include most of Europe and western temperate Asia, it is cultivated as a vegetable crop. Asparagus is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing to 100–150 cm tall, with stout stems with much-branched, feathery foliage; the "leaves" are in fact needle-like cladodes in the axils of scale leaves. The root system is adventitious and the root type is fasciculated; the flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, 4.5–6.5 mm long, with six tepals fused together at the base. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found.
The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm diameter, poisonous to humans. Plants native to the western coasts of Europe are treated as Asparagus officinalis subsp. Prostratus Corb. Distinguished by its low-growing prostrate stems growing to only 30–70 cm high, shorter cladodes 2–18 mm long, it is treated as Asparagus prostratus Dumort, by some authors. Asparagus has been used as a vegetable owing to its distinct flavor, in medicine due to its diuretic properties and its purported function as an aphrodisiac, it is pictured as an offering on an Egyptian frieze dating to 3000 BC. In ancient times, it was known in Syria and in Spain. Greeks and Romans ate it fresh when in season, dried the vegetable for use in winter. Roman Epicureans froze its sprouts high in the Alps for the Feast of Epicurus. Emperor Augustus created the "Asparagus Fleet" for hauling the vegetable, coined the expression "faster than cooking asparagus" for quick action. A recipe for cooking asparagus is given in one of the oldest surviving collection of recipes.
In the second century BC, the Greek physician Galen respected within Roman society, mentioned asparagus as a beneficial herb, but as dominance of the Roman empire waned, asparagus' medicinal value drew little attention. Until al-Nafzawi's The Perfumed Garden; that piece of writing celebrates its pruported aphrodisiacal power that the Indian Ananga Ranga attributes to "special phosphorus elements" that counteract fatigue. By 1469, asparagus was cultivated in French monasteries. Asparagus appears to have been little noticed in England until 1538, in Germany until 1542; the finest texture and the lmost palatable yet least bitter taste is found in the plants' young tips, but by the time the plant has begun to branch and assume its mature form, it has become too bitter to be considered palatable. The points d'amour were served as a delicacy to Madame de Pompadour. Asparagus became available to the New World in the United States. Only young asparagus shoots are eaten: once the buds start to open, the shoots turn woody.
Water makes up 93% of asparagus's composition. Asparagus is low in calories and is low in sodium, it is a good source of vitamin B6, calcium and zinc, a good source of dietary fibre, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, phosphorus, copper and selenium, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that regulates the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. The amino acid asparagine gets its name from asparagus, as the asparagus plant is rich in this compound; the shoots are prepared and served in a number of ways around the world as an appetizer or vegetable side dish. In Asian-style cooking, asparagus is stir-fried. Cantonese restaurants in the United States serve asparagus stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, or beef, it may be grilled over charcoal or hardwood embers, is used as an ingredient in some stews and soups. In recent years, asparagus eaten raw, as a component of a salad, has regained popularity. Asparagus can be pickled and stored for several years.
Some brands label shoots prepared in this way as "marinated". Stem thickness indicates the age of the plant, with the thicker stems coming from older plants. Older, thicker stalks can be woody. Peeled asparagus will poach much faster; the bottom portion of asparagus contains sand and soil, so thorough cleaning is advised before cooking. Green asparagus is eaten worldwide, though the availability of imports throughout the year has made it less of a delicacy than it once was. In Europe, the "asparagus season is a highlight of the foodie calendar"; as in continental Europe, due to the short growing season and demand for local produce, asparagus commands a premium price. White asparagus is popular in Europe and western Asia. White asparagus is the result of applying a blanching technique while the asparagus shoots are growing. To cultivate white asparagus, the shoots are covered wi
Lake County, Michigan
Lake County is a county located in the U. S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,539; the county seat is Baldwin. The county was created by the Michigan Legislature in 1840 as Aishcum County renamed Lake County in 1843, for its many lakes, it was administered by a succession of other Michigan counties prior to the organization of county government in 1871. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 574 square miles, of which 567 square miles is land and 6.9 square miles is water. Manistee County Wexford County Osceola County Newaygo County Mason County US 10 M-37 Manistee National Forest As of the census of 2000, there were 11,333 people, 4,704 households, 3,052 families residing in the county; the population density was 20 people per square mile. There were 13,498 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 84.66% White, 11.17% Black or African American, 1.01% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races, 2.40% from two or more races.
1.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.2% were of English ancestry, 20.0% were of German ancestry, 8.4% were of Irish ancestry, 6.1% were of Dutch ancestry according to 2010 American Community Survey estimates. 97.5% spoke English and 1.3% Spanish as their first language. There were 4,704 households out of which 23.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.10% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.80% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.79. In the county, the population was spread out with 21.90% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 22.70% from 25 to 44, 27.60% from 45 to 64, 19.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 109.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,622, the median income for a family was $32,086. Males had a median income of $30,124 versus $21,886 for females; the per capita income for the county was $14,457. About 14.70% of families and 19.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.30% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of those age 65 or over. 24/7 Wall St. reported. The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services; the county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships. Chief Trial Court Judge: Mark S. Wickens Prosecuting Attorney: Craig Cooper Sheriff: Richard L. Martin County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Patti Pacola County Treasurer: Brenda Kutchinski County Surveyor: Patrick Johnson Baldwin Luther Branch Chase Idlewild Irons List of Michigan State Historic Sites in Lake County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Michigan Lake County Road Commission Website "Bibliography on Lake County".
Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Lake County Website Lake County Chamber of Commerce
James Harrington (author)
James Harrington was an English political theorist of classical republicanism, best known for his controversial work, The Commonwealth of Oceana. This work was an exposition on an ideal constitution, designed to facilitate the development of a utopian republic. Harrington was born in Upton, eldest son of Sir Sapcote Harrington of Rand, Lincolnshire who died 1629, great-nephew of the first Lord Harington of Exton who died 1615, his mother was Jane Samwell of daughter of Sir William Samwell. He was for a time a resident, with his father, in the Manor House at Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire. A blue plaque on the Manor house marks this fact; the village church contains a decorative plaque on the Chancel wall, on the south side, to Dame Jane, the late wife of Sir Sapcote. According to a memorial in Holy Cross Church in Milton, she died on 30 March 1619, when James was 7 or 8 years old; the memorial reads, in modern English but punctuated as in the original "Here under lies the body of Dame Jane, daughter of Sir William Samwell Knight, & late wife to Sir Sapcotes Harington of Milton Knight, by whom he had issue 2 sons & 3 daughters, viz James, Jane, Anne & Elizabeth.
Which Lady died March 30, 1619". Knowledge of Harrington's childhood and early education is non-existent. In 1629, he entered Trinity College, Oxford as a gentleman commoner and left two years with no degree. For a brief time, one of his tutors was the royalist High Churchman William Chillingworth, he entered abruptly left the Middle Temple despising lawyers forever, an animus which appeared in his writings. By this time, Harrington's father had died, his inheritance helped pay his way through several years of continental travel, he enlisted in a Dutch militia regiment, before touring the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy. He was in Geneva with James Zouche in the summer of 1635 and subsequently travelled to Rome where on 14 January 1636 he dined at the Jesuit-run English College with Zouche and Henry Neville or his elder brother Richard. In the light of this, Toland's reference to his visiting the Vatican, where he'refused to kiss the Pope's foot' refers to early 1636. Harrington returned to England in the same year.
The following decade, including his comings and goings during the Civil Wars, are unaccounted for by anything other than unsubstantiated stories of the ilk: that he accompanied Charles I to Scotland in 1639 in connection with the first Bishops' War. Otherwise, he appears to have "resided at Rand, an unmarried country gentleman of studious tastes." Harrington's apparent political loyalty to Parliament did not interfere with a strong personal devotion to the King. Following his capture, Harrington accompanied a "commission" of MPs appointed to persuade Charles to move from Newcastle to Holmby House, as to be nearer London; when a further attempt was made to forcibly transfer the King to the capital, Harrington intervened. In May 1647, he became a gentleman groom of the royal bedchamber. Sometime around New Year 1649, his attendance on the King was abruptly terminated by parliamentarians furious, it is said, over his refusal to swear to report anything he might hear of a royal escape attempt. At least two contemporary accounts have Harrington with Charles on the scaffold, but these do not rise above the level of rumour.
After Charles' death Harrington devoted his time to the composition of his The Commonwealth of Oceana. By order of England's Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, it was seized when passing through the press. Harrington, managed to secure the favour of Cromwell's favourite daughter, Mrs Claypole; the views embodied in Oceana those bearing on vote by ballot and rotation of magistrates and legislators and others endeavoured to push but with no success. Harrington's manuscripts have vanished; the first two editions are known as the "Chapman" and the "Pakeman". Their contents are nearly identical, his Works, including the Pakeman Oceana and the somewhat important A System of Politics, were first edited with biography by John Toland in 1700. Toland's edition, with numerous substantial additions by Thomas Birch, appeared first in Dublin in 1737 and 1758, in England in 1747 and 1771. Oceana was reprinted in Henry Morley's Universal Library in 1883. B. Liljegren reissued a fastidiously prepared version of the Pakeman edition in 1924.
Harrington's modern editor is J. G. A. Pocock. In 1977, he edited a comprehensive compilation of Harrington tracts, with a lengthy historical introduction. Harrington's prose was marred by what Pocock described as an undisciplined work habit and a conspicuous "lack of sophistication." He never attained the level of "a great literary stylist." For example, as contrasted with Hobbes and Milton, "nowhere" to be found are: "important shades of meaning...conveyed rhythm and punctuation. He wrote hastily, in a periodic style in which he more than once lost his way, he suffered from Latinisms...his notions of how t
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
Sheboygan County is a county in the U. S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River; as of the 2010 census, the population was 115,507. Its county seat is Sheboygan; the county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At the time, it was located in the Wisconsin Territory. Sheboygan County comprises WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Part of the Holyland region is located in northwestern Sheboygan County. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,271 square miles, of which 511 square miles is land and 760 square miles is water. Interstate 43 Highway 23 Highway 28 Highway 32 Highway 42 Highway 57 Highway 67 Highway 144 Sheboygan County Memorial Airport, serves the county and surrounding communities. Manitowoc County - north Ozaukee County - south Washington County - southwest Fond du Lac County - west Calumet County - northwest As of the census of 2000, there were 112,646 people, 43,545 households, 29,915 families residing in the county; the population density was 219 people per square mile.
There were 45,947 housing units at an average density of 90 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 92.71% White, 1.09% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 3.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.46% from other races, 1.07% from two or more races. There is beer in Sheboygan County. 3.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 54.9 % were of 5.4 % American ancestry. 91.9% spoke English, 3.0% Spanish, 2.5% Hmong and 1.7% German as their first language. There were 43,545 households out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.30% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males. Gibbsville Greenbush Hingham Kennedys Corners National Register of Historic Places listings in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Buchen, Gustave W. Historic Sheboygan County. Sheboygan, Wis. 1944. Hildebrand, Janice. Sheboygan County, 150 Years of Progress: An Illustrated History. Northridge, Calif: Windsor Publications, 1988. Portrait and Biographical Record of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Excelsior Publishing Company, 1894. Zillier, Carl. History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin: Past and Present. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912. Sheboygan County Government Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce
Time in the United States
Time in the United States, by law, is divided into nine standard time zones covering the states and its possessions, with most of the United States observing daylight saving time for the spring and fall months. The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. Official and precise timekeeping services are provided by two federal agencies: the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the clocks run by these services are kept synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the time zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services, which determines the legal civil time for any U. S. location at any moment. Before the adoption of four standard time zones for the continental United States, many towns and cities set their clocks to noon when the sun passed their local meridian, pre-corrected for the equation of time on the date of observation, to form local mean solar time.
Noon occurred at different times but time differences between distant locations were noticeable prior to the 19th century because of long travel times and the lack of long-distance instant communications prior to the development of the telegraph. The use of local solar time became awkward as railways and telecommunications improved. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s; each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a serious problem for people traveling by train, according to the Library of Congress; every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from. Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, but this was only a partial solution to the problem.
Weather service chief Cleveland Abbe had needed to introduce four standard time zones for his weather stations, an idea which he offered to the railroads. Operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18, 1883, when the telegraph lines transmitted time signals to all major cities. In October 1884, the International Meridian Conference at Washington DC adopted a proposal which stated that the prime meridian for longitude and timekeeping should be one that passes through the centre of the transit instrument at the Greenwich Observatory in the United Kingdom; the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the world's time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in which all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. In 1960, the International Radio Consultative Committee formalized the concept of Coordinated Universal Time, which became the new international civil time standard.
UTC is, within about 1 second, mean solar time at 0°. UTC does not observe daylight saving time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, but GMT is no longer defined by the scientific community. UTC is one of several related successors to GMT. Standard time zones in the United States are defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260; the federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs, if observed. It is the authority of the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the states, to determine which regions will observe which of the standard time zones and if they will observe daylight saving time; as of August 9, 2007, the standard time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the mean solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official. View the standard time zone boundaries here; the United States uses nine standard time zones.
As defined by US law they are: From east to west, the four time zones of the contiguous United States are: Eastern Time Zone, which comprises the states on the Atlantic coast and the eastern two thirds of the Ohio Valley. Central Time Zone, which comprises the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, most of the Great Plains. Mountain Time Zone, which comprises the states and portions of states that include the Rocky Mountains and the western quarter of the Great Plains. Pacific Time Zone, which comprises the states on the Pacific coast, plus Nevada and the Idaho panhandle. Alaska Time Zone, which comprises most of the state of Alaska. Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone, which includes Hawaii and most of the length of the Aleutian Islands chain. Samoa Time Zone, which comprises American Samoa. Chamorro Time Zone, which comprises Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Atlantic Time Zone, which comprises Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands; some United States Minor Outlying Islands are outside the time zones defined by 15 U.
S. C. § exist in waters defined by Nautical time. In practice, military crews may
Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
Ozaukee County is a county in the U. S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,395, its county seat is Port Washington. Ozaukee County is included in WI Metropolitan Statistical Area; as of the 2000 Census, Ozaukee County had the 2nd lowest poverty rate of any county in the United States, at 2.6%. In terms of per capita income, it is the 25th wealthiest county in the country. Bolstered by low crime rates and school districts with high graduation rates, Forbes magazine ranked Ozaukee County #2 on its list of "America's Best Places To Raise A Family" in June, 2008. Ozaukee County was once part of neighboring Washington County to the west, its name comes from the Ojibwe name for the Sacs. The word means "people living at the mouth of a river." Ozaukee County is the smallest land area county in the State of Wisconsin, covering 235 square miles of land area. Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve is a large bluffland and wetland county protected area on the shore of Lake Michigan. Interstate 43 Highway 32 Highway 33 Highway 57 Highway 60 Highway 167 Highway 181 Sheboygan County - north Oceana County, Michigan - northeast Muskegon County, Michigan - east Milwaukee County - south Waukesha County - southwest Washington County - west As of the census of 2000, there were 82,317 people, 30,857 households, 23,019 families residing in the county.
The population density was 355 people per square mile. There were 32,034 housing units at an average density of 138 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 96.72% White, 0.93% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, 0.73% from two or more races. 1.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.2% were of German, 7.3% Irish and 6.7% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.1% spoke English, 1.6% Spanish and 1.4% German as their first language. There were 30,857 households out of which 36.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.60% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.40% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94 males; the median income for a household in the county was $62,745, the median income for a family was $72,547. Males had a median income of $50,044 versus $30,476 for females; the per capita income for the county was $31,947. About 1.7% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over. Ozaukee County has a harbor in Port Washington on Lake Michigan, though not in the lakeside communities of Mequon or Grafton due to high bluffs along the lakeshore; the Ozaukee County Interurban Trail is a multimodal trail for pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles. It runs through Grafton and connects to Sheboygan County and Brown Deer Trails via the old Milwaukee-Sheboygan Passenger Rail line. Public transit is provided by a commuter express bus to Milwaukee with stops in Port Washington, Saukville and Mequon.
The bus operates Monday through Fridays excluding holidays, is run jointly by Milwaukee and Ozaukee County. The county offers a daily shared taxi, with connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u. Lyndon Johnson was the last Democrat to carry the county in a presidential election, in 1964. Cedarburg Mequon Port Washington Waubeka National Register of Historic Places listings in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin History of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881. Ozaukee County website Ozaukee County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Ozaukee County Transit Ozaukee County Interurban Trail
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in Canada, Romania and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, in Jamaica. In most of the United States, counties are the political subdivisions of a state; the city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county. The county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records and correctional facility are located in the county seat though some functions may be located or conducted in other parts of the county if it is geographically large. A county seat is but not always, an incorporated municipality; the exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia. Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland.
Some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, an incorporated municipality. In some of the colonial states, county seats include or included "Court House" as part of their name. In the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in Taiwan are the administrative centers of the counties. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which are in the forms of county-administered city, urban township or rural township. Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont have two or more county seats located on opposite sides of the county. An example is Harrison County, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats; the practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days.
There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Coffee County, Alabama St. Clair County, Alabama Arkansas County, Arkansas Carroll County, Arkansas Clay County, Arkansas Craighead County, Arkansas Franklin County, Arkansas Logan County, Arkansas Mississippi County, Arkansas Prairie County, Arkansas Sebastian County, Arkansas Yell County, Arkansas Columbia County, Georgia Lee County, Iowa Campbell County, Kentucky Kenton County, Kentucky Essex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County, Massachusetts Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bolivar County, Mississippi Carroll County, Mississippi Chickasaw County, Mississippi Harrison County, Mississippi Hinds County, Mississippi Jasper County, Mississippi Jones County, Mississippi Panola County, Mississippi Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Yalobusha County, Mississippi Jackson County, Missouri Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Seneca County, New York Bennington County, Vermont In New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government.
Counties in this region have served as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of thus no county seats. In Vermont and Maine the county seats are designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the respective shire town. Bennington County has two shire towns. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town or city governments; as such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, the state government now operates the registries of deeds and sheriff's offices in those counties. In Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center. Two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county, their county-level services are provided by Fall River Tripp County, respectively.
In Louisiana, divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as parish seats. Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the Unorganized Borough, which covers 49 % of Alaska's area, has equivalent. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. County seat war Administrative center County town, administrative centres in Ireland and the UK Chef-lieu, administrative centres in Algeria, Luxembourg, France and Tunisia Municipality, equivalent to county in many c
US 31 – runs north-south through the western part of county. Passes Pentwater, Hart, Shelby, Rothbury.
M-20 – runs east-west through south part of county. Enters east line at Hesperia, runs west to intersection with US-31 west of New Era.
M-120 –runs along east line of county, from SE corner to intersection with M-20 at Hesperia.
Oceana County, Michigan
