This is a list of the fourteen counties in the U.S. state of Vermont. These counties together contain 255 political units, or "places", incluing 237 towns, 9 cities, 5 unincorporated areas, and 4 gores. Each county has a county seat, known in Vermont as shire town. In 1777, Vermont had two counties. The western side of the state was called Bennington County and the eastern was called Cumberland County. In 1781 Cumberland County was broken up into three counties in Vermont, plus Washington County, which eventually became part of New Hampshire. Today's Washington County was known as Jefferson County until 1814. Essex County, Orleans County, and Caledonia County are commonly referred to as the Northeast Kingdom.