County seat
(Redirected from Shire town)
A county seat is the location of a county government, and is usually the largest, oldest, or most central town or city within a county. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the name county town is used rather than county seat.
In the U.S. state of Louisiana, counties are called parishes and have parish seats rather than county seats; while in Alaska, counties are called boroughs and have borough seats.