# Vancouver Island? What Else No Longer Exists?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 26, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025 "2009-06-26T01:57:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/1 "2009-06-26T01:57:45Z")
The question about citing an act of a colonial legislature for the Colony of Vancouver Island, now part of the Province of British Columbia, makes me wonder what other former colonies and territories have been folded into larger more modern units. I’m thinking specifically about Canada and the U.S., but anything else of interest would be welcome.
The only other such units I can think of are North and South Jersey, into which New Jersey was split for some short period in colonial times, and Indian Territory, now eastern Oklahoma. Are there others? What are they?
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/2 "2009-06-26T02:04:24Z")
I am not sure exactly but I’m sure the New England states were subdivided into more colonies. Like there was the Plymouth Colony, New Haven Colony. I am not sure if it was a colony or after Australia was independent but Central Australia was seperated from the Northern Territory, then reunited.
Nova Scotia had Cape Breton Island seperated from it for a bit, so I’m not sure, but that might have been seperate too.
The British had East and West Florida as seperate colonies
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### Author:  [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/3 "2009-06-26T02:15:06Z")
It was [East](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Jersey) and [West](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Jersey) Jersey.
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/4 "2009-06-26T02:30:27Z")
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> I am not sure if it was a colony or after Australia was independent but Central Australia was seperated from the Northern Territory, then reunited.
It was after federation. Central Australia was carved out of the Northern Territory, supposedly because the Northern Territory was too large. In the end it lasted as a separate entity for just over four years, from 1927 until 1931.
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/5 "2009-06-26T02:39:01Z")
Another example is the former New Zealand province of Southland. It was carved out of Otago in 1861, but reunited in 1870.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/6 "2009-06-26T02:50:47Z")
New York had several counties that no longer exist. Cornwall County was transferred to Massachusetts and later became Maine. Dukes County, which was the area east of Ling Island, was also transferred to Massachusetts. Cumberland and Gloucester Counties were formed into Vermont.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/7 "2009-06-26T03:07:45Z")
The [State of Franklin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Franklin) existed for four years in land that later became part of Tennessee, although it was never officially recognized by the US government.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/8 "2009-06-26T03:08:36Z")
Here’s Wikipedia’s list of US counties that don’t exist anymore:
> **[List of former United States counties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_U.S._counties)**
>
> This is a list of former United States counties, a list of United States counties (administrative subunits of a U.S. state) that no longer exist.
> They were established by a state, provincial, colonial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states. A county is repeated on the list if its jurisdiction changed from one state, colony, or territory to another.
> This...
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### Author:  [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/9 "2009-06-26T03:25:29Z")
Your thread title gave me a moment of existential uncertainty.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/10 "2009-06-26T03:54:53Z")
(West) Virginia created(1863) out of Virginia during the civil war.
Simarly, Nevada from Utah at the same time frame.
Actually, this isn’t what you were looking for.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/11 "2009-06-26T03:56:33Z")
> [@Savannah](#):
>
> Your thread title gave me a moment of existential uncertainty.
Hope you know how to swim. And just so my post isn’t totally without content, Rupert’s Land, the British Arctic Territories, or the Columbia District all no longer exist in their original form.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/12 "2009-06-26T04:09:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> And just so my post isn’t totally without content, Rupert’s Land, the British Arctic Territories, or the Columbia District all no longer exist in their original form.
The Dominion of Newfoundland’s also gone.
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### Author:  [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/13 "2009-06-26T04:17:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> The Dominion of Newfoundland’s also gone.
[http://www.harbourcitygeneralstore.com/](http://www.harbourcitygeneralstore.com/)
But unfortunately not forgotten.
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### Author:  [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/14 "2009-06-26T05:35:17Z")
Well in Canada you have the dearly departed districts of [Assiniboia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assiniboia) and [Athabasca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Athabasca). Now part of Saskatchewan and BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba repectively.
Australia had [Central Australia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Australia) which existed for five years or so before being devolved back into the Northern Territory.
The US has had a lot of weird pseudo self declared regions like the short lived [Republic of West Florida](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Florida). Which is now In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
And the longer lasting but still less than 2 years [Jefferson Territory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Territory) which largely turned into Colorado (plus a good chunk of Wyoming).
The weird little [Sabine Free State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_Free_State) which due to border disagreements wasn’t part of anything for 15 years and then absorbed into Louisiana.
You also have [Republic of Winston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Winston) which kinda re-succeded from Alabama back into the Union during the civil war.
And then there are dozens more like the Welsh Barony in Pennsylvania, Westsylvania in Virginia and Pennsylvania, Vandalia in the same place, Transylvania a bit to the south and west of the other two, and Franklin a bit south of that. But I’m not sure these are quite what you are looking for. The US generally has been good once the states are set. But in those first years most territories had some very undefined borders.
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### Author:  [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/15 "2009-06-26T05:36:19Z")
Delaware colony was sort of part of Pennsylvania for a while, West Florida was a republic briefly (As was California, Vermont, Hawaii & Texas), The panhandle of Oklahoma was a no-mans land that didn’t belong to any territory for a while. Then there are little bits of states whose ownership was in question such as the Wedge between Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey (?).
Upper Canada and Lower Canada became Quebec and Ontario, for the most part.
Don’t forget colonies like Jamestown and Roanoke–the former was later incorporated into Virginia and the latter disappeared.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/16 "2009-06-26T07:39:29Z")
> [@fandango](#):
>
> Delaware colony was sort of part of Pennsylvania for a while, West Florida was a republic briefly (As was California, Vermont, Hawaii & Texas), .
AFAIK, Calif, West Flor & Vermont were never actually recognized by anyone. Thus, they really weren’t republics.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/17 "2009-06-26T07:48:28Z")
The [Northwest Territory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Territory), including the Western Reserve.
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### Author:  [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/18 "2009-06-26T11:36:53Z")
> [@Polycarp](#):
>
> The question about citing an act of a colonial legislature for the Colony of Vancouver Island, now part of the Province of British Columbia, makes me wonder what other former colonies and territories have been folded into larger more modern units. I’m thinking specifically about Canada and the U.S., but anything else of interest would be welcome.
>
> The only other such units I can think of are North and South Jersey, into which New Jersey was split for some short period in colonial times, and Indian Territory, now eastern Oklahoma. Are there others? What are they?
I really don’t understand the question. What’s so special about Vancouver or the previous subdivisions of New Jersey? It seems to me that small units get annexed to larger units all the time.
My guess is that you are not looking for things like the U.S. acquisition of Alaska, because although it is now part of the US, it still does retain an identity as a state of its own. What about all the ancient city-states which merged to become Greece? How about the consolidations of [New York City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Greater_New_York) in 1898, or of [Ottawa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Ottawa) in 1999? How about when the District of Columbia gave part of its territory back to Virginia in 1847?
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/19 "2009-06-26T14:29:24Z")
What I was looking for, **Keeve** (and got some wonderful examples of), was political “things” that had separate existence for a period and were then incorporated into a larger unit, the examples of the British colonies of Vancouver Island and Cape Breton, now parts of the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia respectively. While I had not thought on the county level, focusing on colony/state/territory/province level usages, those too were intriguing in many cases.
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### Author:  [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vancouver-island-what-else-no-longer-exists/501025/20 "2009-06-26T15:58:38Z")
> [@Bartman](#):
>
> Well in Canada you have the dearly departed districts of [Assiniboia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assiniboia) and [Athabasca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Athabasca). Now part of Saskatchewan and BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba repectively.
And the District of Ungava, now northern Quebec (and probably soon to become the Territory of Nunavik inside Quebec). As for the [District of Keewatin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Keewatin), I believe it actually was a separate territory.
Under the British military regime (1760-1764), the governments of Quebec, Trois-Rivières and Montreal in Canada were basically separate countries, each with their own currency and with passport controls at their borders. When New France was ceded to Britain in 1763, it was decided that they would be merged into a single administration, in Quebec City, under the name of Province of Quebec.
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