County seat war

A county seat war is an American phenomenon that happened mostly in the Old West as it was being settled.[1] Although, there were similar events elsewhere, such as in southeastern Ohio.[2] 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.