In the United States counties are the primary administrative subdivisions of states and the county seats are towns that serve as the local center of government. There are plenty of notable variations and deviations from that model but as a general rule, states have counties with formally designated county seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government officials usually established county seats upon the creation of the county or soon thereafter. Often they remained at the same spot all the way through the present. There were occasional county seat changes in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries as the fortunes of various towns rose or fell with the settlement patterns of the vast empty spaces. However, a county seat move is quite uncommon in the modern era. It doesn’t matter nearly as much anymore with automobiles moving at highway speeds on extensive road grids. Few counties are so large that it makes a meaningful difference anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benton County, Washington is a glaring exception. The voters face a stark choice on November 2, 2010. If the referendum receives 60% of the votes, then the county seat will move from Prosser to Kennewick<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n