With the growth of the king's power, that of the underkings or earls grew less.

Then other shires were formed, and this institution became simply an administrative division.

After the Norman conquest the French terms count and county came into use.
The earnest student will find both pleasure and profit in looking up the origin and history of the trial by jury, the criminal warrant, the writ of habeas corpus, bail, common law, the general rules of parliamentary practice, etc.
Town and County in America .-- In New England the most important division of the state is the town; in the South it is the county.[Footnote: An excellent discussion of this may be found in "Samuel Adams, the Man of the Town Meeting," John's Hopkins University Studies in History, Volume II, Number 4.] In other states the relative importance of the two organizations depends upon the influence to which the state was most strongly subjected.
The reason for the difference is found in the character and circumstances of the early colonists.
In New England, the church was the center of the community.

The severity of the climate and the character of the soil made it impracticable to cultivate large farms.

The colonists had come mainly from the towns of England.