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 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html