Fun Facts About Your County

[CoreySamson]

In this thread, I thought it would be fun to explore some of the quirks of our home counties, both road-related and nonroad-related.

I'll start with Brazoria County, TX.

Road-related:

Largest county in Texas not to have an interstate or US route within its boundaries.

Has what might possibly be the highest signed clearance in America, at 23 ft, 9 in:
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.124172,-95.4304301,3a,15y,4.51h,91.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sO0MCnHjnhTkVrKbYZ1tLEw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Has the only "FREEWAY ENTRANCE" signs I know of in Texas:
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.1973843,-95.4491836,3a,76.8y,5.53h,68.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9MhKuhcu6MoVgdhPWI0oQA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Nonroad-related:

Has more species of birds than any other county in America (many species of birds migrate through here).

Buc-ee's is headquartered here.

[NWI_Irish96]

Lake County, IN

Only county in the state with three x0/x5 interstates
Only county in the state with three x0/x1 US highways

Only county in the state with multiple casinos
Has the largest steel mill in North America
Borders a county with over 5 million people and a county with less than 15,000 people

[US71]

Sebastian County, AR

Home of Judge Parker's Courtroom (The Hanging Judge)
Poteau River meets Arkansas River
Home of Fort Chaffee

Largest town in Arkansas (for now, Fort Smith) crossed by US 71
First 3di in the state (I-540)

[thspfc]

Dane, WI

- Only county in the state with three 2di Interstates but no 3dis
- Has five US routes, I believe more than any other county in WI
- Second most freeway miles of any county in WI, just behind Milwaukee
- Max VPD of 110,000 (on the Beltline), second highest in the state

Other non-road facts . . .
- Has 16 Culver's locations, more than any other county in the world
- Both the second largest county in the state (after Marathon) and the second most populous county in the state (after Milwaukee)
- Fully or partially contains 5 of the 60 largest lakes in the state (Mendota, a tiny bit of Koshkonong, Monona, Kegonsa, Waubesa)

[SEWIGuy]

Dane, WI

- Only county in the state with three 2di Interstates but no 3dis
- Has five US routes, I believe more than any other county in WI
- Second most freeway miles of any county in WI, just behind Milwaukee
- Max VPD of 110,000 (on the Beltline), second highest in the state

I can't think of a county in Wisconsin that has even historically had more than 3.

[Bruce]

Snohomish County, WA

Home to the world's largest building by volume (the Boeing factory in Everett)
Had the first identified COVID case in the U.S. (back in January)
Changed county seats two times, the last being "stolen" by Everett through sketchy votes
Has its own volcano that isn't prominent in the horizon due to how setback it is

[hbelkins]

My home county is named after Robert E. Lee, and thus probably will end up being renamed at some point in the future, given the current politically correct climate.

It's also the spot where the three upper tributaries of the Kentucky River come together to form the main stem of the river.

[Flint1979]

Saginaw County, Michigan

Stevie Wonder was born here.
Serena Williams was born here.
Home of Frankenmuth and Chesaning two cool little cities.
Home of the Zilwaukee Bridge.

It's not the most interesting county by any stretch. In fact I find Saginaw County very boring, it's a flat county with pretty much no inland lakes in a state that has thousands of them but we are only 15 miles from an inlet of a Great Lake, the Saginaw Bay part of Lake Huron.

[Max Rockatansky]

Fresno County; we have the largest City in the Country not on an Interstate. 

[dlsterner]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

[Flint1979]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

An intercounty interstate ftw.

[sprjus4]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

NC I-87 is entirely in Wake County.

Granted, it's temporary and will be extended towards northeastern NC and Hampton Roads in the long term.

[ftballfan]

Manistee County, MI:

- Smallest county by population with a Meijer (also the only Meijer with an entrance directly onto a 65 mph road)
- The lowest AADT section of US-31 is partially within Manistee County (AADT is only 3,235 between Glovers Lake Rd and M-115 [in Benzie County])
- Speaking of M-115, it's one of very few state highways to enter a county without intersecting another state highway
- Home to the only hospital speed limit zone in the state (US-31 drops from 55 to 45 in the vicinity of Munson Manistee)
- Has five Dollar Generals (and two more within five miles of the county line!)

[Roadgeekteen]

Norfolk county- has not one, but two exclaves.

[dlsterner]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

An intercounty interstate ftw.

No.
What you meant was an intracounty interstate.  There's a difference.

[Roadgeekteen]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

An intercounty interstate ftw.

No.
What you meant was an intracounty interstate.  There's a difference.

Every other 2di would be intercounty.

[Scott5114]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

NC I-87 is entirely in Wake County.

Granted, it's temporary and will be extended towards northeastern NC and Hampton Roads in the long term.

Also, I-11 is currently only in Clark County, Nevada.

[GaryV]

Manistee County, MI:

- Smallest county in the Lower Peninsula by population with a Meijer

FIFY.  There's a Meijer in Sault Ste Marie.

[Flint1979]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

An intercounty interstate ftw.

No.
What you meant was an intracounty interstate.  There's a difference.

Yes that is what I meant.

[SectorZ]

My home county is named after Robert E. Lee, and thus probably will end up being renamed at some point in the future, given the current politically correct climate.

It's also the spot where the three upper tributaries of the Kentucky River come together to form the main stem of the river.

They'll just change it to a different Lee. Probably Spike Lee at this point.

[Ned Weasel]

Johnson County, Kansas:

• The most populous county in the state.
• Has the second-most populous city in the state (Overland Park).
• Has the widest freeway segment in the state (I-435 between K-10 and State Line Road with four lanes in each direction plus an expansive C-D roadway network between K-10 and I-35 and between Quivira and Antioch Roads).
  
• Had four fully enclosed malls, but three have been demolished.  (Mission Center Mall, Great Mall of the Great Plains, and Metcalf South Shopping Center have all been demolished in part or in whole.  Only Oak Park Mall remains.)
• Has a short freeway that isn't part of any state or federal highway system (Shawnee Mission Parkway between I-435 and Lackman Road, but it used to be Kansas State Highway 12).
• Has seven consecutive two-lane roundabouts on Prairie Star Parkway: https://goo.gl/maps/Wf2vB4uaXy4MJUiT8 .  I still would like to know if that's a record.
• Has an impressive collection of Eichler-inspired mid-centry modernist homes (http://www.kcmodern.com/residential , http://www.kcmodern.com/don-drummond-2).
• Has a large museum inside a retrofitted former bowling alley/ice skating rink that includes a prototype all-electric house: https://www.jocogov.org/facility/johnson-county-museum, https://www.jcprd.com/933/1950s-All-Electric-House .
• Probably wouldn't have been nearly as populous and built-up if I-35 had followed the entire length of the Kansas Turnpike instead of being routed onto the toll-free segment between Emporia and Kansas City that reduces the route's length by three miles.
• Has four diverging diamonds (I-35 and Homestead Lane, I-35 and 95th Street, I-435 and Roe Avenue, and K-10 and Ridgeview Road), and I wouldn't be surprised to see more in the future.
• Shares a street numbering system with neighboring Miami County, Kansas and Jackson and Cass Counties in Missouri, but not Wyandotte County, Kansas, which shares its street numbering system with Leavenworth County, Kansas.

[webny99]

Monroe County, NY:

-Contains three of I-90's nine NY children.
-Home of a single Thruway exit, 46 (future 134!  ).
-Home of the lowest interstate speed limit in the state, 40 mph on I-490 in downtown Rochester
-Home to a twin pair of state route extensions of interstates, NY 390 and NY 590
-Known for light traffic, especially on the freeways, thanks to a great freeway network and the fact that I-90 bypasses the city to the south

-2019 Population 741,770
-Second-most populous county in upstate NY, after Erie
-Most populous county with Lake Ontario shoreline
-Home of Rochester, New York's third-largest city and America's first boomtown!
-Home of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony
-Home to the Genesee River, one of the longest US rivers that flows north
-Home to (former) Midtown Plaza, America's first urban indoor mall
-Home of Strong Museum, the only museum in the world dedicated to play
-Home of Kodak! Paychex, and Xerox
-Home of Zweigle's hot dogs
-Home of the trash plate

[nexus73]

Coos County's port area around the body of water called Coos Bay was the world's largest timber products shipping port in the world. 

One of the founders of United Airlines formed a bus transport company in the Coos Bay-North Bend area early in the 20th century.

If you like to run more than drive, then you will appreciate the fact that Steve Prefontaine came from Coos Bay.  The largest punter in the history of college football was Brad Hunter from North Bend.  Mel Counts, a star at Marshfield HS (Coos Bay), went on to star at Oregon State and in the NBA.  For those who like to drive without a car, the Bandon Dunes golf complex is rated as one of the best golf resorts in the world. 

Roy Scheider, who starred in "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind", got his start in acting at Little Theatre On The Bay in North Bend.  Only two men have been to the bottom of the Marianas Trench.  One is Jacques Cousteau.  The man who accompanied him retired to a tiny hamlet along Old Wagon Road, which is the original road from the 1870's that got Coos County connected by a land route.  A German who was a survivor of Hitler's bunker in 1945 took up residence here.  He would give annual talks to students at Marshfield HS. 

Our most secret submarine detection facility for the Pacific Ocean during the Cold War was located by Charleston at the Coos Head Naval Facility.  The system was called SOSUS and it cost the modern dollar equivalent of $100 billion.  We also had the 761st Radar Squadron (USAF) north of the unincorporated village called Hauser.  Toss in a Coast Guard cutter, helicopter facility, rescue boats, maintenance facilities, a housing project and BX from that branch of the service.  The National Guard has an armory here as well.  In case of WW3, we would have been a prime target. 

The sand dune formation which runs from Coos Bay to Florence is the second largest formation in the world.  Frank Herbert saw it on a visit and was inspired to write the "Dune" series of books, of which one was made into a movie.  No sandworms there, just mosquitos and careless operators of ATV's.  Be careful!

The tallest building on the Oregon Coast at 9 stories is the Tioga Hotel, in downtown Coos Bay. The Coos Bay-North Bend area is the largest metro area on the Oregon Coast.  Between the incorporated and urban unincorporated areas, the population numbers around 35K. 

In a rarity for bridge naming, the longest bridge on the Oregon Coast which is entirely in Oregon is named after its designer, Conde McCullough.  He also did a number of other bridges that tied US 101 together during the Great Depression.

There is plenty more to say but then this post would get into TLDR territory...LOL!  Coos County is full of amazing people, places and stories.

Rick

[Brandon]

Will County, Illinois

• The most fourth most populous county in the state.
• The county seat, Joliet, also extends into neighboring Kendall County.
• Created in 1836 out of parts of Cook County (a southern portion came from Iroquois County, but was lost when Kankakee County was formed).
• Named for Dr. Conrad Will, a longtime member of the General Assembly, and a businessman involved in the production of salt in southern Illinois.*
• Has the only F-5 (now EF-5) tornado to hit the Chicago area.
• Home to two very large intermodal yards that serve the Chicago area and surrounding parts of Illinois, Indiana, and even Wisconsin.
• Home to a collection of Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridges (4) in Joliet across the Des Plaines River.
• Home to the longest bridge in the Illinois Tollway system, and the second longest bridge entirely within Illinois.

*Personally, I'd rather change it to "Marquette County" due to some of Dr. Will's associations.  Plus, that would make Joliet the county seat of Marquette County, which is appropriate for historical reasons.

[dlsterner]

Anne Arundel county, Maryland ...

Only county in the USA with a 2di entirely within its borders   

Thanks to sprjus4 and Scott5114 for reminding me about I-87 (NC) and I-11, respectively.  I suppose I should modify my "fun fact" to:
Only county in the USA with a 2di (once completed) entirely within its borders