The change of Connecticut counties is official

[muon2]

The Census Bureau published its official acceptance of the proposed change of county equivalents in CT from the 8 counties that functioned  before 1960 to boundaries corresponding to the 9 current planning regions.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/06/06/2022-12063/change-to-county-equivalents-in-the-state-of-connecticut

Here's my map of the new county-equivalents by town. The map in the federal document can be hard to read.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

What a bad day for geography nerds.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

My base maps have to change now.
Not necessarily too happy about that, but it's a small thing in the big scheme of things.

[ProgressiveModerate]

There was never a problem with the old County lines so I still don't udnerstand why they felt the need to do this, but I like these county lines slightly better, especially along the coast where Fairfield County was getting quite populated and NYC suburban based. Hartford County is a bit too big IMO but oh well.

Also it'll be slightly better to analyze statewide results on election night given 9 counties rather than 8.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

2020 populations for each county, identified by a large town or city within their borders:
1 95,348 -305,312 Killingly
2 280,430 -120,230 Norwich
3 174,225 -226,435 Middletown
4 976,248 575,588 Hartford
5 570,487 169,827 New Haven
6 450,376 49,716 Waterbury
7 112,503 -288,157 Torrington
8 325,778 -74,882 Bridgeport
9 620,549 219,889 Stamford

(change numbers are derived from CT population divided by 9, per DRA)

Based on 5 CDs:
1   95,348   -625,841
2   280,430   -440,759
3   174,225   -546,964
4   976,248   255,059
5   570,487   -150,702
6   450,376   -270,813
7   112,503   -608,686
8   325,778   -395,411
9   620,549   -100,640

[bagelman]

Not a fan of the names.

DRA map of new counties:

https://davesredistricting.org/join/e93bcebb-af9d-4ef3-be88-678b21b3a67b

Trump won 3 in 2016 and 2 in 2020, with NW Hills Trump -> Biden. In the 2018 gubernatorial race, Stefanowski (R) won 4, Trump '16 + LCRV, and held Lamont under 50% in the southeast which Susan Hatfield won in her failed race for Attorney General. Despite the senate race being considerably less competitive, Corey (R) managed to very narrowly win all the Trump '16 counties unlike 2016 GOP nominee Carter.

Better names:

Capitol -> just keep Hartford

Greater Bridgeport -> Bridgeport

Lower Connecticut River Valley -> River (or just keep Middlesex)

Naugatuck Valley -> Naugatuck

Northeastern Connecticut -> Quinebaug (or just keep Windham) (or just Northeast)

Northwest Hills -> keep Litchfield (or just Northwest) (or just Hill)

South Central Connecticut -> Quinnipiac (or just keep New Haven)

Southeastern Connecticut -> Thames (or just keep New London) (or just Southeast)

Western Connecticut -> keep Fairfield (or just West)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Will Atlas maps be updated accordingly?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

OK why are these names so boring and unoriginal? Seriously.

[muon2]

OK why are these names so boring and unoriginal? Seriously.

The petition from CT to the Census used the boundaries and names for the clusters of towns that functioned as regional planning agencies. AFAIK, none of the official comments to the Census in regards to the proposed change referenced the names.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

OK why are these names so boring and unoriginal? Seriously.

The petition from CT to the Census used the boundaries and names for the clusters of towns that functioned as regional planning agencies. AFAIK, none of the official comments to the Census in regards to the proposed change referenced the names.

boo! Why let bureaucracy get in the way of a good name

So what if you have to change your letterhead! I want a cooler name that I can forget exists in two weeks!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I hate it.

[muon2]

Not a fan of the names.

DRA map of new counties:

https://davesredistricting.org/join/e93bcebb-af9d-4ef3-be88-678b21b3a67b

Trump won 3 in 2016 and 2 in 2020, with NW Hills Trump -> Biden. In the 2018 gubernatorial race, Stefanowski (R) won 4, Trump '16 + LCRV, and held Lamont under 50% in the southeast which Susan Hatfield won in her failed race for Attorney General. Despite the senate race being considerably less competitive, Corey (R) managed to very narrowly win all the Trump '16 counties unlike 2016 GOP nominee Carter.

Better names:

Capitol -> just keep Hartford

Greater Bridgeport -> Bridgeport

Lower Connecticut River Valley -> River (or just keep Middlesex)

Naugatuck Valley -> Naugatuck

Northeastern Connecticut -> Quinebaug (or just keep Windham) (or just Northeast)

Northwest Hills -> keep Litchfield (or just Northwest) (or just Hill)

South Central Connecticut -> Quinnipiac (or just keep New Haven)

Southeastern Connecticut -> Thames (or just keep New London) (or just Southeast)

Western Connecticut -> keep Fairfield (or just West)

I like Naugatuck and the idea of the valleys as a source of names, especially names derived from native places. I'd have urged something like this:

Capitol -> Connecticut (as other states have a county of the same name as the state)

Greater Bridgeport -> Pequonnock

Lower Connecticut River Valley -> Lower Connecticut (or Quinetucket as it was originally called)

Naugatuck Valley -> Naugatuck

Northeastern Connecticut -> Quinebaug

Northwest Hills -> Upper Housatonic

South Central Connecticut -> Quinnipiac

Southeastern Connecticut -> Pequot (the original name of the Thames)

Western Connecticut -> Saugatuck

[Torie]

Yes, one of my most favorite things about the NE is its glorious watersheds. I typically announce to Dan when are passing from one watershed to the next, and ask him to check his altimeter (hey Dan, how close to heaven did we just get this time as we just left the Catskill watershed and entered the Little Schoharie Creek watershed with soil so fertile that when the 48'er German tenant farmers in "Germantown" in Columbia County discovered it, they decamped to it en mass (to be replaced in due time by some "cottages" for the pleasure of  a few robber barons and their friends, including more recently the "organic" "farms" of the issue of the Rockefeller family (their "barns" really are stunningly beautiful), and thus (back to Schoharie now) the huge gently hilly rolling fields as they descend to the Mohawk River (and adjacent Erie Canal) that have not been reforested because farming still pays there).

These sheds take some time to master however in some places, such as the crazed web of them in Ulster County NY where some "kills" flow north, while the one next door in parallel flows south, and the march of the Appalachians is not only cleaved by the Hudson River as if by magic, but also another narrow cleft in which was constructed a canal that ran from the Hudson in Kingston to the Delaware at Port Jervis. How awesome is that?

[progressive85]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

[Boobs]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

Alaska split Valdez-Cordova Census Area into Chugach CA and Copper River CA in 2019.

And it created Petersburg Borough in 2013.

In the lower 48, Colorado's Broomfield was created in 2001.

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

Alaska split Valdez-Cordova Census Area into Chugach CA and Copper River CA in 2019.

And it created Petersburg Borough in 2013.

In the lower 48, Colorado's Broomfield was created in 2001.

If it didn’t require an amendment to the state constitution South Carolina would likely have had two new ones in the late 1900s. Theres been movements to bisect Horry (along the inter coastal waterway)  to make it easier for coastal development and county governance as it’s one of the largest counties ine state, and the Birch County Movement, a new county around Ballentine, Irmo, and Chapin.

[Schiff for Senate]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

Not all that long ago AZ also gave itself a new county. This is not new.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

Not all that long ago AZ also gave itself a new county. This is not new.

39 years ago is "not all that long ago"?

[Schiff for Senate]

What's the newest county's name?  Gee I never heard of this, a state adding counties... When was the last time that happened?

Not all that long ago AZ also gave itself a new county. This is not new.

39 years ago is "not all that long ago"?

Well, it’s relatively recent compared to most counties (the vast majority were made before WWII, after all, and even before WWI for that matter).

[kyc0705]

"lower connecticut river valley county, connecticut" has serious "my single, 'my single is dropping', is dropping" energy.

[CookieDamage]

Are the counties actually being abolished?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Are the counties actually being abolished?

They essentially did that in 2000.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The state courts still follow county lines.

[jimrtex]

The state courts still follow county lines.

It is the other way around. In New England there really wasn't much in the way of county government since local government was at the town level. The courts had jurisdiction over cases arising throughout the county.

The superior court districts do not strictly follow the old county boundaries. There are actual districts, not the stripes shown in the ballotpedia article.

Connecticut Judicial Branch - Judicial Districts

[Skill and Chance]

The state courts still follow county lines.

It is the other way around. In New England there really wasn't much in the way of county government since local government was at the town level. The courts had jurisdiction over cases arising throughout the county.

The superior court districts do not strictly follow the old county boundaries. There are actual districts, not the stripes shown in the ballotpedia article.

Connecticut Judicial Branch - Judicial Districts

Yes, counties are nearly meaningless in New England.  This is mostly academic.