# What was the most newsworthy event to happen in your county (or equivalent) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119 "2014-08-08T19:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/61 "2014-08-11T13:09:19Z")
US Secretary of State [John Kerry](http://www.portalangop.co.ao/angola/en_us/noticias/politica/2014/4/18/John-Kerry-expected-Sunday-Angola,4d6d5b47-e984-420b-b12a-0f2735ec8be2.html) stopped by in May. The big bosses got to go to a reception with Sec. Kerry at the US Embassy. While not newsworthy to expats here, for the second year in a row Luanda retained the title of Most Expensive city in the latest report from Forbes magazine. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/62 "2014-08-11T13:18:46Z")
Well, lots of stuff has happened in Tel Aviv, but I’d say the biggest was the declaration of independence of the State of Israel in 1948. ---
**Author:** ![Tremblay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tremblay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremblay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/63 "2014-08-11T13:24:15Z")
Hough Riots during the civil rights era during 1966. While I was not alive during that time, it was still an epic part of history near me. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/64 "2014-08-11T17:15:11Z")
Hmm, let’s see: - Listed as fastest growing county in the US, 1986 through 1988 - Larry Flint was shot outside the county courthouse - Though only 20 miles from the brunt of Sherman’s march to the sea, no civil war battles were fought in this county ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/65 "2014-08-11T17:17:04Z")
Essex County, Massachusetts - I’d have to pick the Salem Witch Trials. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/66 "2014-08-11T17:29:25Z")
Dallas County, TX. Assassination of JFK, hands-down. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/67 "2014-08-11T18:06:48Z")
Probably this prime example of humanity > **[Marcus Wesson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Wesson)** > > Marcus Delon Wesson (born August 22, 1946) is an American mass murderer and child rapist, convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and 14 sex crimes, including the rape and molestation of his underage daughters. His victims were his children, fathered through incestuous sexual abuse of his daughters and nieces, as well as his wife's children. He has been described as the worst mass murderer of Fresno, California. > Marcus Wesson was born in Kansas, the eldest of four children of Benjamin ... ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/68 "2014-08-11T18:15:57Z")
Three come to mind: [ul] [li]April 21, 1836: [Sam Houston & the Texians defeated Santa Anna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto) near the San Jacinto River. The resulting Republic of Texas was eventually annexed by the USA. A border dispute provided an excuse for the Mexican-American War. Disagreement over the status of the immense resulting land grab helped contribute to the Civil War. [/li] [li]September 8, 1900:[The Great Storm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane) hit Galveston, down on the Coast. The country’s worst natural disaster caused 6,000 to 12,000 deaths. [/li] [li]April 16, 1947: [The Texas City explosion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster). A ship filled with fertilizer blew up, destroying most of this little city across the water from Galveston Island. The country’s worst industrial accident, with approximately 518 dead.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/69 "2014-08-11T18:26:49Z")
Orinda, California: The murder of Kirsten Costas, which was made into the movie, A Friend to Die For, occurred at my high school (a few years after I graduated). > **[Death of A Cheerleader (TV Movie 1994) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109847/?ref_=nv_sr_1)** > > Death of A Cheerleader: Directed by William A. Graham. With Kellie Martin, Tori Spelling, James Avery, Eugene Roche. Who could have stabbed popular, beautiful cheerleader Stacy to death? It could have been antisocial Goth girl Monica, it could've... Oh… history, not crime? hmm… In addition to the occasional murderer, my high school has produced NFL players Ken Dorsey, Drew Bennet and Bryan Barker, as well as a bunch of Olympians (water polo, wrestling & swimming, mostly). ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/70 "2014-08-11T18:26:50Z")
I’m from Hertfordshire - the English county just directly north of modern London (in earlier times the county of Middlesex existed between the two but sadly it has been essentially absorbed by London). Most famous world event was probably back in early December 1066 when Aetheling Edgar (the heir to King Harold II’s English claim to the throne) surrendered to William the Bastard (aka Duke William of Normandy and future William the Conqueror) after the Battle of Hastings William defeated the English army at Hastings in October, crossed the River Thames at Wallingford and was met by Edgar at the town of Berkhamsted in what is now Hertfordshire. Edgar led a delegation of the English establishment including Archbishop Aldred, Earl Edwin, Earl Morcar and the chief men of London who swore loyalty to William in return for good government. William was offered the crown there but instead said he would accept the keys to London in Berkhamsted but would only accept the crown of England in London. Thus, in Berkhamsted, William of Normandy, William the Bastard, became William the Conqueror. On Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned William I of England in Westminster Abbey. A sad day for English freedom. It took us over three hundred years and the arrival of Henry IV to shake off Norman/French domination. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/71 "2014-08-11T20:53:11Z")
Back in 1997, 39 members of the [Heaven’s Gate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29) cult offed themselves a few miles from where I live. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/72 "2014-08-11T21:02:03Z")
I grew up in Prince William County, VA. In my life time, probably John Wayne Bobbitt getting his dick cut off. In all of US history, probably the first battle of Bullrun. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/73 "2014-08-11T21:05:57Z")
Don’t know if its significance was obvious at the time, but the Suffolk Resolves, a precursor to the Declaration of Independence, was signed here. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/74 "2014-08-11T22:42:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’d tell you, but you’d think it was total bunk. I’m guessing you’re in Asheville! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/75 "2014-08-11T23:38:09Z")
I live in rural Champaign County, Ohio. Where the crash of [TWA Flight 553](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_553) occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/76 "2014-08-12T00:54:05Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I grew up in Prince William County, VA. In my life time, probably John Wayne Bobbitt getting his dick cut off. > > In all of US history, probably the first battle of Bullrun. I’m thinking the later is a bit more significant. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/77 "2014-08-12T01:35:27Z")
Not to Bobbitt. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/78 "2014-08-12T07:21:05Z")
I currently live in Hampshire; the English lost the Battle of Basing to the Vikings, which inspired Alfred the Great eventually to step up his game. I used to live in Albemarle County, VA. Thomas Jefferson built a house there. I grew up in New Castle County, DE. Both Graham Chapman and the Kinks gave performances there (at the UD). Supposedly the Stars and Stripes were first flown at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge just outside of Newark. We stopped there after I got married, because the orders of the American soldiers were to ‘give the British as much trouble as possible’ (rather than to try to defeat them), and I thought that was a pretty good wedding vow. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/79 "2014-08-12T12:30:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Not to Bobbitt. He did get famous and a movie role out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/80 "2014-08-12T19:34:24Z")
General Sherman stopped by on his way to Savannah. Burned the courthouse - which doubled as a barn when court wasn’t in session, so maybe not a huge financial loss. The local university won six national football championships between 1985 and 2000 (I-AA football, so maybe not a huge deal to most people, but the football program was suspended at the start of WWII, and not restarted until 1982. They went from using the local high school stadium in 1983 to winning a championship in 1985 - pretty impressive.) And we have a little [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezPZxfS1jys) that lots of folks have heard of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119.md?page=5)