County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Romania. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function.

Function

In the United States, counties are the administrative subdivisions of a state. Counties administer state law at the local level as part of the decentralization of state authority. In many states, state government is further decentralized below the county level by dividing counties into incorporated cities and towns and/or unincorporated civil townships, in order to provide local government services. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, and hall of records, are located in the county seat, though some functions may also be conducted in other parts of the county, especially if it is geographically large.

County Seat (store)

County Seat was an American clothing retailer founded in 1973. With more than 740 stores at its peak, the chain closed in 1999 following Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

History

Jack J. Crocker, then the CEO of SuperValu supermarkets, founded the chain in 1973 in Dallas, Texas. County Seat specialized in casual apparel and blue jeans. In 1977, the chain grew to 183 stores, and also began to sell sports clothing. In 1983, it was sold to the Carson Pirie Scott department store chain of Chicago, who bought County Seat for $71 million.

Carson Pirie Scott redesigned the chain's stores with matte black fixtures and re-focused the merchandise line to target high schoolers. The chain had 415 stores in 1989, at which point Bergner's acquired Carson Pirie Scott and sold County Seat to a new management team.

Wet Seal offered to buy the County Seat chain in 1996, but was rejected. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 1996 and began to close stores. County Seat filed for bankruptcy again in 1999.