Tiny dot counties in Virginia?

[jimrtex]

actually no. it's been that way forever.

No ... or maybe the Census didn't start recognizing it until later ... I could go dig when it started but I'm too lazy.

Petersburg was recognized in the 1890 census, and then 17 others in 1900.

Baltimore City has been reported separately from Baltimore County since 1860, but it may have been legally separate before then.

In other places the city and county governments have been unified, such as Denver and San Francisco, and somewhat in New York City.  The boroughs are subdivisions of the city, while their coterminous counties are subdivisisions of the state.  These are more like independent cities like Cheasapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Hampton, and Newport News where the IC has annexed the complete surrounding county, so that the county government no longer exists.