From the very earliest years of the Virginia colony counties were the basic
form of government (unlike New England where the 'town" was the core
governmental entity). Cities on the other hand are creatures of the Virginia
General Assembly, which is empowered to grant them a charter. That charter
can be relinquished (a few localities (Emporia, Bedford, Clifton Forge) have
done that in Virginia in recent years, calling on their neighboring counties
to take over various municipal responsibilities, and the General Assembly
has complete control over what cities may do (like annex adjoining land,
change their form of government etc). The system has nothing to do with the
Civil War. The entire system is responsible for many of Virginia woes, since
counties have no responsibility for the 20th-century issues that confront a
neighboring city (urban poor, local transportation, crumbling school systems
etc). Cities become "land locked" since the General Assembly has forbidden
any annexation since the early 1970s so they have no way to expand their
industrial and commercial tax base. You might check out some of the work and
books by Dr. John Moeser for detailed consideration of these problems.
Margaret Peters
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Keith Kirkland
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2013 1:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Why does Virginia, alone among states, require that its cities be
discrete municipal entities from its counties (aka Independent Cities)?
I'm passing this question along from a social media website I frequent
because I'm wondering if someone better qualified could shed any light on
the matter. Additional reading sources for further information would be
appreciated.
"Independent cities are cities that do not even nominally exist within a
county -- they are beholden only to the state. In the United States, there
are 42 independent cities, and 39 of them are in Virginia (the exceptions
are Baltimore, St. Louis, and Carson City, NV).
I have been trying for some time to figure out why this is so. I know that
this practice started in the Virginia Constitution of 1870, so I'll wager it
has something to do with the civil war, the secession of the counties that
became West Virginia, and/or reconstruction. However, I have been unable to
locate any sources that give me a firm answer. Particularly frustrating is
the fact that the Virginia General Assembly didn't keep records until the
20th century.
For more information: [1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city_(United_States)"<http://en.wik
ipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city_%28United_States%29>
Thank you.
--
Keith Kirkland
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