County Seats That Never Had A US Highway

[cu2010]

Continuing east and north in NY:

Oswego (Oswego) - old US104
Jefferson (Watertown) - US11
St. Lawrence (Canton) - US11
Franklin (Malone) - US11
Clinton (Plattsburgh) - US9
Hamilton (Lake Pleasant) - no (Hamilton County as a whole has never had a US route run though it)
Essex (Elizabethtown) - US9
Herkimer (Herkimer) - no
Oneida (Utica) - no
Madison (Wampsville) - no
Warren (Queensbury) - US9
Saratoga (Ballston Spa) - no
Washington (Fort Edward) - US4
Montgomery (Fonda) - no
Fulton (Johnstown) - no
Schenectady (Schenectady) - no
Albany (Albany) - US9, US20
Rensselaer (Troy[let]) - US4

[iowahighways]

Here's Iowa's list (county name in parentheses):

Allison (Butler)*
Bedford (Taylor)*
Centerville (Appanoose)*
Clarion (Wright)
Corydon (Wayne)
Cresco (Howard)
Dakota City (Humboldt)**
Eldora (Hardin)
Elkader (Clayton)
Estherville (Emmet)*
Greenfield (Adair)
Grundy Center (Grundy)
Guthrie Center (Guthrie)*
Keosauqua (Van Buren)*
Knoxville (Marion)*
Orange City (Sioux)
Pocahontas (Pocahontas)*
Sibley (Osceola)
Sigourney (Keokuk)*
Tipton (Cedar)
Washington (Washington)
Waukon (Allamakee)
*These counties have no US highways, period. All others have at least one US highway that misses the county seat.
**US 169 runs through the neighboring city of Humboldt, which is not the seat of Humboldt County.

Historically, US 75 ran through Onawa (seat of Monona County) but not anymore.

[SP Cook]

West Virginia:

Brooke (Wellsburg)
Calhoun (Grantsville)
Hancock (New Cumberland)
Lincoln (Hamlin)
Mason (Point Pleasant) *
Pleasants (Saint Marys)
Preston (Kingwood)
Putnam (Winfield) **
Ritchie (Harrisville)
Summers (Hinton)
Tyler (Middlebourne)
Wayne (Wayne) ***
Wezel (New Martinsville)
Wirt (Elizabeth)
Wyoming (Pineville) ****

* US 35 entered WV by crossing the Ohio on the north bank of the Kanawha via the Silver Bridge and was thus Main St. in Point Pleasant.  When the bridge colapsed, the replacement entered on the south bank of the Kanawha, in the town of Henderson, opposite Point Pleasant.  While US 35 uses Point Pleasant as a control city, it never actually enters it.  The old US 35 is now WV 2 and 62.

** US 35 was the main street of Winfield until the new 4 lane opened last year.  The new 4 lane bypasses the town to the southwest.  The old US 35 is now WV 817.

*** The original US 52 was Main Street in Wayne.  In the early 70s a new US 52 was built along the Big Sandy 8 miles to the west and the old US 52 is now WV 152.

**** If US 121/Coalfield Expressway is ever built (I will never live to see it, and doubt it will ever be built) it would pass through Pineville.

[D-Dey65]

There's a few counties in NY I know of that don't have US Highways at all, let alone in their seats:

- Suffolk County (seat: Riverhead)
- Nassau County (seat: Mineola)
- Queens County
- Kings County (Brooklyn)
- Richmond County (Staten Island) only had US 9 run through it for 3 years in the 1930s

That was just too easy.

[US71]

Huntsville, AR (Madison County) was not until 1982 when US 412 usurped AR 68

Other Arkansas County Seats

Jasper (Newton)

Dardanelle (Yell)

Paris (Logan)

Danville (Yell - Yell has 2 county seats)

Perryville (Perry)

Heber Springs (Cleburne)

That's all I can think of off-hand

[hbelkins]

Clintwood (Dickenson County) - another County without a US Route

Dickenson County will have US 460 before too long. Virginia recently started construction of the new US 460 route in that county, and Kentucky is inching its way toward the state line with its US 460 construction.

[mjb2002]

The following county seats in SC do not have a US highway:

Abbeville, the county seat of Abbeville County
Chesterfield, the county seat of Chesterfield County
Walhalla, the county seat of Oconee County

[PAHighways]

I had posted this same topic on my site's Facebook page awhile back.

Beaver, Beaver County
New Bloomfield, Perry County

On a side note:  Prior to 1967, every county in Pennsylvania was served by at least one US route.

[twinsfan87]

Regarding the Wisconsin county seats, US 12 does in fact enter Baraboo. I've seen the signs driving through on US 12, and WisDOT's county maps confirm it: http://dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/sauk.pdf

[Beeper1]

Rhode Island:

Providence County - Providence - US 1, US 6, US 44
Kent County - East Greenwich - US 1
Washington County - South Kingstown - US 1
Bristol County - Bristol - never served by a US Highway
Newport County - Newport - never served by a US highway


Massachusetts:

Berkshire County - Pittsfield - US 7 and US 20
Franklin County - Greenfield - US 5
Hampshire County - Northampton - US 5
Hampden County - Springfield - US 5 and US 20
Worcester County - Worcester - US 20
Middlesex County - two seats: Cambridge and Lowell - both served by US 3
Essex County - two seats: Salem and Lawrence - both never served by a US highway
Suffolk County - Boston - US 1, US 3, US 20
Norfolk County - Dedham - US 1
Bristol County - Taunton - US 44
Plymouth County - Plymouth - US 44
Barnstable County - Barnstable - US 6
Dukes County - Edgartown - never served by US highway
Nantucket County - Nantucket - never served by US highway 

[MDRoads]

Maryland:

Allegany County (Cumberland): lost US 48, retains US 40, 220
Anne Arundel County (Annapolis):  US 50/301
Baltimore County (Towson): lost US 111
Calvert (Prince Frederick): never served by a US highway
Caroline (Denton): never served by a US highway
Carroll (Westminster): lost US 140
Cecil (Elkton): lost US 213, retains US 40
Charles (La Plata): US 301
Dorchester (Cambridge): US 50
Frederick (Frederick): lost US 240, retains US 15 & 340
Garrett (Oakland): US 219
Harford (Bel Air): US 1
Howard (Ellicott City): US 29 & US 40 nearby, bypasses old town center
Kent (Chestertown): lost US 213
Montgomery (Rockville): lost US 240
Prince George's (Upper Marlboro): US 301 nearby, now bypasses town center
Queen Anne's (Centreville): lost US 213
St. Mary's (Leonardtown): never served by a US highway
Somerset (Princess Anne): US 13
Talbot (Easton): US 50 (US 213 before 1949)
Washington (Hagerstown): US 11 & US 40
Wicomico (Salisbury): US 13 & US 50
Worcester (Snow Hill): US 113
Baltimore City (Baltimore): lost US 29, 111, 140, 301; retains US 1 & US 40

[tdindy88]

Counties in Indiana without a US highway:

Blackford (Hartford City)
Brown (Nashville)
Crawford (English)
Fayette (Connersville)
Grant (Marion)
Hamilton (Noblesville)
Henry (New Castle)
Madison (Anderson)
Monroe (Bloomington)
Morgan (Martinsville)
Noble (Albion)
Ohio (Rising Sun)
Perry (Tell City)
Posey (Mt. Vernon)
Switzerland (Vevay)
Tipton (Tipton)
Vermillion (Newport)
Warren (Williamsport)
Washington (Salem)
Wells (Bluffton)

Counties that once had a US Highway:

DeKalb (Auburn) had US 27 go through it at one time but it has been cut back to Ft. Wayne (despite what Rand McNally says.)
Harrison (Corydon) had US 460 go through it along what I believe is now SR 62 but that was decommisioned
Spencer (Rockport) had US 231 go through the county seat until recently when the route was transfered to a new expressway and river crossing.

[NWI_Irish96]

Two more to add to the Indiana list:

Pike (Petersburg)
Warrick (Boonville)

Madison County does not have a US Highway but does have Interstate 69.

Also of note, seven of the counties have no US nor interstate highway anywhere in the county at all:

Blackford
Brown
Fayette
Monroe
Ohio
Pike
Switzerland

I would also like to suggest Bloomington and Monroe County as possibly the most populous county seat and county anywhere in the continental US without any US or interstate highway.

[tdindy88]

Well, Bloomington has no US and Interstate highway for now, that may be changing by 2014 if I-69 is built up to at least SR 37.

[froggie]

I would also like to suggest Bloomington and Monroe County as possibly the most populous county seat and county anywhere in the continental US without any US or interstate highway.

There are 4 counties in California that are as large or larger than Monroe County.  And while 3 of the 4 are along the former US 99, one isn't:  Santa Cruz County, which has twice the population of Monroe County.  There's a few other counties scattered around (Cumberland, NJ; Kitsap, WA; Brazoria, TX).

[Kacie Jane]

Minor correction to my New Jersey list... US 46 is closer to Paterson than I thought, and in fact, if you're heading westbound, the ramp you take at the NJ 20 interchange does clip the southeast corner of the city limits.

Similarly (this one I had correct), US 9 just barely clips Freehold Boro (which is separate from Freehold Township) at the CR 537.  That one doesn't really make a difference though, as US 9 originally ran through downtown on what is now NJ 79.

(I have no clue what historical alignments of US 46 around Paterson are; it may have historically served Paterson more legitimately.)

[Alps]

Minor correction to my New Jersey list... US 46 is closer to Paterson than I thought, and in fact, if you're heading westbound, the ramp you take at the NJ 20 interchange does clip the southeast corner of the city limits.

Similarly (this one I had correct), US 9 just barely clips Freehold Boro (which is separate from Freehold Township) at the CR 537.  That one doesn't really make a difference though, as US 9 originally ran through downtown on what is now NJ 79.

(I have no clue what historical alignments of US 46 around Paterson are; it may have historically served Paterson more legitimately.)

US 46 originally followed the long form of NJ 62 - Union Blvd., Totowa Rd., across the river and up to McBride. It then went into downtown and came out on Market St. and ended up on the bridge that leads east from the NJ 20 interchange, straight across all of Bergen County to Hackensack, down the Turnpike there and across Hendricks Causeway to US 1/9, followed NJ 5 (or an even older alignment prior) to the ferry on the river.

[berberry]

I see someone has already given a lot of Mississippi examples.  I would think that the South is where you'd find most of these since we have so very, very many counties.  MS has something like 83 counties, which is absurd when you consider that the population of the entire state is considerably less than most large cities.

This is why I roll my eyes when I hear someone say that this or that part of the state budget needs to be cut because "we just can't afford it" (and this isn't a democrat or republican thing - while the specific budget items being proposed for cuts might be different depending on party, the idea that we MUST modify those things and not our god-given county lines is almost universal).

Having fewer counties might even help to improve roads, since fewer political power brokers would be involved in planning new routes and upgrades.

[froggie]

Consider, however, that for virtually all of the south, the basic/core level of local government is the county.  It's not like the Midwest or the Northeast that has townships/towns as the core level of local government.  Connecticut, in particular, has effectively "eliminated" the county in all but name.

[berberry]

Consider, however, that for virtually all of the south, the basic/core level of local government is the county.  It's not like the Midwest or the Northeast that has townships/towns as the core level of local government.  Connecticut, in particular, has effectively "eliminated" the county in all but name.

Yeah, that's a good point, but do those townships really do as much as a county does?  By that I mean do they run their own school systems, law enforcement agencies, court systems, road maintenance systems, etc?  I don't think so, but if I'm wrong then I obviously need to do a bit more reading about townships.

My issue is with the tiny size of many of our counties in this state and others like it.  Some of them have no more than a few thousand people, and I cannot understand why they can't be combined with other, surrounding and usually also quite small counties.

I'm sure you know that these counties were created at a time when automobiles were only dreamed of, if that.  A fifty-mile journey would require a day or more by horseback, so having many geographically small counties was the only way to make gov't accessible to most citizens.  Today, not only can we travel fifty miles in less than an hour, we can transact business with most government agencies instantaneously from any place with an internet connection.  Having all these tiny little counties, each with its own full-scale government, just doesn't make sense in the 21st century.  And if we're really so desperate to save money, why isn't anyone saying anything along these lines?

To tie this back to the thread's topic, I'll repeat that I believe fewer counties might very well mean better roads.  If we combine all the correct responses to the OP that've been posted so far (and we're on page 2, I see) we'd have an exceedingly long list, don't you think?  That list ought to be a lot shorter, imo, and not because we need more US highways.

[rawmustard]

Yeah, that's a good point, but do those townships really do as much as a county does?  By that I mean do they run their own school systems, law enforcement agencies, court systems, road maintenance systems, etc?  I don't think so, but if I'm wrong then I obviously need to do a bit more reading about townships.

It depends on the specific township. Some townships will provide their own police or fire services while others will either contract to a county or other municipality for either service. At least in Michigan, public school districts are their own governmental entities and the other local governmental entities have no say over how they're run. As to road maintenance, townships in Michigan are expected to kick in a certain percentage of funding to road maintenance for the county roads that aren't designated county-primary, usually more if there's a project a township really desires, but the townships don't have their own road commission for the most part. The courts are mainly state-level divided into districts or circuits, but most of those will have jurisdiction over one county. (Of course, counties with larger populations will have more than one district and circuit.) There really are no "township courts."

[TheStranger]

- Richmond County (Staten Island) only had US 9 run through it for 3 years in the 1930s

What was US 9's Staten Island routing?

[nyratk1]

- Richmond County (Staten Island) only had US 9 run through it for 3 years in the 1930s

What was US 9's Staten Island routing?

From NYCRoads:
"Prior to 1931, US 9 exited Broadway at 125th Street, and went over a trans-Hudson ferry to Edgewater, New Jersey. From 1931 to 1934, US 9 traveled down Broadway to South Ferry, where it went over the Staten Island Ferry to Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island"

[NE2]

If I'm not mistaken, only one of Oklahoma's 77 county seats has never had a U.S. Highway: Stigler. (I'm counting Hobart as close enough to US 183; Walters was on the original US 70 alignment via Wichita Falls-Randlett-Walters-Comanche-Waurika.)

[vtk]

Consider, however, that for virtually all of the south, the basic/core level of local government is the county.  It's not like the Midwest or the Northeast that has townships/towns as the core level of local government.  Connecticut, in particular, has effectively "eliminated" the county in all but name.

Yeah, that's a good point, but do those townships really do as much as a county does?  By that I mean do they run their own school systems, law enforcement agencies, court systems, road maintenance systems, etc?

It depends on the specific township. As to road maintenance, townships in Michigan are expected to kick in a certain percentage of funding to road maintenance for the county roads that aren't designated county-primary, usually more if there's a project a township really desires, but the townships don't have their own road commission for the most part.

My home township in Ohio has law enforcement which I've never seen, a fire department, zoning enforcement, and a Road And Cemetery Department.