Bennington County, Vermont
Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipality is Bennington. Bennington is the only county in Vermont with two shire towns. Thus, it the only county in the United States to have two "shire towns" within its boundaries (as every US state except for Vermont refers to their seats of government as county/parish/borough seats). The county was created in 1778.