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California State...
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California Counties
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California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
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Marin County, California
Marin County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: San Rafael
Year Organized: 1850
Square Miles: 520 |
Court House: Marin Civic Center
Administration Building
San Rafael, CA 94903-0000
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
The origin of its name is not clear. One story says that the
county was named for Chief Marin, of the Licatiut tribe of Indians who inhabited
that section and waged fierce battle against the early Spanish military
explorers. The other version is that the bay between San Pedro and San Quentin
points was named Bahia de Nuestra Senora del Rosario la Marinera by Ayala in
1775, and it is quite possible that Marin is simply an abbreviation of this
name.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Marin County is one of the original 27 counties of California, created February 18, 1850, following adoption of the
Constitution of 1849 and just months before the state was admitted to the Union.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 828 square miles (2,145 kmē), of
which, 520 square miles (1,346 kmē) of it is land and 308 square miles (799 kmē) of it (37.24%) is
water.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Sonoma County
- East: San Francisco Bay; Contra Costa County
- South: San Francisco city & county
- West: North Pacific Ocean
Cities and Towns:
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- Belvedere |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Corte Madera |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fairfax |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Larkspur |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Mill Valley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Novato |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Ross |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- San Anselmo |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- San Rafael
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Sausalito |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Tiburon |
town |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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