County seat war

A county seat war is an American phenomenon that happened mostly in the Old West as it was being settled.Mason, Henry F. "County Seat Controversies in Southwestern Kansas" The Kansas Historical Quarterly 2:1 (February 1933) 45-65. (retrieved from The Kansas Collection August 29, 2006) Although, there were similar events elsewhere, such as in southeastern Ohio.Thrane, Susan W.  County Courthouses of Ohio.  Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2000, 119. As new towns were created and county lines were drawn, there was intense competition for the status and tax benefits received by becoming a county seat. These "wars" often involved nothing more than lining up at the ballot box. However, sometimes people from a particular town would use voter fraud, intimidation or violence. 

References

Other websites
West Virginia newspaper clips about county seat wars

Category:History of the United States