List of former United States district courts

Template:Short description The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the jurisdictions which they covered increased in population. Two of the district courts—those of South Carolina and New Jersey—were subdivided but later recreated. Every change to the divisions and boundaries of these courts is effected by an act of the United States Congress, and for each such action, the statutory reference is identified.

{{#if:|}}

Alabama

The United States District Court for the District of Alabama was created on April 21, 1820, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S390>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 390.</ref><ref name=fjcal>U.S. District Courts of Alabama, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on March 10, 1824, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S390/><ref name=fjcal/> The Middle District was subsequently formed from parts of these two districts on February 6, 1839, by Template:USStat,<ref name=S390/><ref name=fjcal/><ref name=C178>Alfred Conkling, A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States (1864), p. 178.</ref> with legislation specifying that the Middle District Court was to be held at Tuscaloosa, the Northern District Court at Huntsville, and the Southern District Court at Mobile.<ref name=S390/> The Districts were reorganized on August 7, 1848.<ref name=S391>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 391.</ref> Only one judge was ever appointed to the District of Alabama.

Arkansas

Arkansas, originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, became part of the Missouri Territory in 1812, when Louisiana became a state. When Missouri became a state in 1819, a territorial government, including a territorial court, was organized for Arkansas, taking effect on July 4, 1819.<ref name =foster>Lynn Foster, Their Pride and Ornament: Judge Benjamin Johnson and the Federal Courts in Early Arkansas, 22 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 21 (1999).</ref> The United States District Court for the District of Arkansas was established with a single judge when Arkansas became a state, on June 15, 1836, by Template:USStat, 51.<ref name=foster/><ref name=fjcar>U.S. District Courts of Arkansas, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The court was subdivided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1851, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S390/><ref name=fjcar/><ref name=C179>Alfred Conkling, A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States (1864), p. 179.</ref>

California

The United States District Court for the District of California existed from 1866 to 1886. California was admitted as a state on September 9, 1850, and was initially divided into two districts, the Northern and the Southern, by Act of Congress approved September 28 Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcca>U.S. District Courts of California, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The boundary line was at the 37th parallel north.<ref name=calif>Willoughby Rodman, History of the Bench and Bar of Southern California (1909), p. 46.</ref> The creating act provided that:

In addition to the ordinary jurisdiction and powers of a District Court of the United States, with which the Southern District Court of New York has been invested, the said Courts be and hereby are invested respectively within the limits of its district with the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction and power in all civil cases now exercised by the Circuit Courts of the United States; and that in all cases where said Courts shall exercise such jurisdiction, appeals may be taken from the judgments, orders or decrees of said Courts to the Supreme Court of the United States.

On February 27, 1851, President Millard Fillmore appointed Ogden Hoffman Jr., as the judge presiding over the Northern District. The Act of August 31, 1852, made the Judge of the Northern District be Judge of the Southern District as well until otherwise provided, by Template:USStat, 84,<ref name=fjcca/> effectively creating a single District in all but name until an Act of January 18, 1854 provided for the appointment of a Judge for the Southern District.<ref name=calif/> The Southern District of California was abolished and the State made to constitute one district by Act of Congress approved July 27, 1866, Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcca/><ref name=calif/>

Twenty years later, on August 5, 1886, Congress re-created the Southern District of California (and, by extension, the Northern District) by Template:USStat.<ref name=calif/> Hoffman, who had continued serving as the sole district judge, again became judge of the Northern district only, there continuing in service for five more years. Erskine Mayo Ross was appointed Judge of the new Southern District and served until his promotion to the Circuit Judgeship, when he was succeeded by Olin Wellborn.<ref name=calif/>

On March 18, 1966, the Eastern and Central Districts were created from portions of the Northern and Southern Districts by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcca/>

Florida

On the same day that Florida was admitted as a state, March 3, 1845, Congress enacted legislation creating the United States District Court for the District of Florida, Template:USStat.<ref name=S393>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 393.</ref><ref name=fjcfl>U.S. District Courts of Florida, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> On February 23, 1847, Template:USStat<ref name=S393/><ref name=fjcfl/> divided the jurisdiction of this court between the Northern District and a Southern District Courts with the boundary between as:

[T]hat part of the State of Florida lying south of a line drawn due east and west from the northern point of Charlotte Harbor, including the islands, keys, reefs, shoals, harbors, bays and inlets, south of said line, shall be erected into a new judicial district, to be called the Southern District of Florida; a District Court shall be held in said Southern District, to consist of one judge, who shall reside at Key West, in said district...

The same statute directed the Northern District to hold court at Apalachicola, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida.

On July 30, 1962, the Middle District was created from portions of the other districts by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcfl/>

Georgia

The United States District Court for the District of Georgia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=fjcga>U.S. District Courts of Georgia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on August 11, 1848, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S390/><ref name=C179/><ref name=fjcga/> The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on May 28, 1926, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcga/>

Illinois

File:Illinois-District-Court-his.gif

Map of the changing Districts of Illinois.

The United States District Court for the District of Illinois was established by a statute passed by the United States Congress on March 3, 1819, Template:USStat.<ref name=S393/><ref name=fjcil>U.S. District Courts of Illinois, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The act established a single office for a judge to preside over the court. Initially, the court was not within any existing judicial circuit, and appeals from the court were taken directly to the United States Supreme Court. In 1837, Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, placing it in Chicago, Illinois and giving it jurisdiction over the District of Illinois, Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcil/> The District itself was eliminated by a statute passed on February 13, 1855, Template:USStat, under which it was subdivided into the Northern and the Southern Districts.<ref name=fjcil/> The boundaries of the District and the seats of the courts were set forth in the statute:

The counties of Hancock, McDonough, Peoria, Woodford, Livingston, and Iroquois, and all the counties in the said State north of them, shall compose one district, to be called the northern district of Illinois, and courts shall be held for the said district at the city of Chicago; and the residue of the counties of the said State shall compose another district, to be called the southern district of Illinois, and courts shall be held for the same at the city of Springfield.

The district has since been re-organized several times. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois was created on March 3, 1905, by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcil/> by splitting counties out of the Northern and Southern Districts. It was later eliminated in a reorganization on October 2, 1978, which replaced it with a Central District, Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcil/> also formed from parts of the Northern and Southern Districts.

Indiana

The United States District Court for the District of Indiana was established on March 3, 1817, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S392>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 392.</ref><ref name=fjcin>U.S. District Courts of Indiana, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on April 21, 1928, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcin/> Of all district courts that have been subdivided, Indiana existed for the longest time as a single court, 111 years.

Iowa

The United States District Court for the District of Iowa was established on March 3, 1845, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S394>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 394.</ref><ref name=fjcia>U.S. District Courts of Iowa, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on July 20, 1882, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcia/>

Kentucky

The United States District Court for the District of Kentucky was part of one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=S391/><ref name=fjcky>U.S. District Courts of Kentucky, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> At the time, Kentucky was not yet a state, but was within the territory of the state of Virginia. The District was unchanged when Kentucky became a state on June 1, 1792. On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, Template:USStat, abolished the U.S. district court in Kentucky,<ref name=fjcky/> but the repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcky/> The District was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 12, 1901, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcky/>

Louisiana

On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans – the first time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states.<ref name=fjcla>U.S. District Courts of Louisiana, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by Template:USStat,<ref name=S392/><ref name=fjcla/> several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S392/><ref name=fjcla/>

On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcla/> but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcla/> Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcla/> On March 3, 1881, by Template:USStat, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each.<ref name=fjcla/> The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcla/>

During the course of its frequent subdivisions and reunifications, four judges served as judge of the District of Louisiana: Dominic Augustin Hall, (1812–1820), John Dick, (1821–1823), Theodore Howard McCaleb (1845–1849), and Edward Henry Durell (1866–1874).<ref>Judges of the District of Louisiana, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> Hall was appointed to the District of Louisiana twice. He briefly resigned from the District Court to serve as a Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He was shortly thereafter reappointed to the same seat on the District Court, which had remained vacant in his absence.

Michigan

The United States District Court for the District of Michigan was established on July 1, 1836, by Template:USStat, with a single judgeship.<ref name=fjcmi>U.S. District Courts of Michigan, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The district court was not assigned to a judicial circuit, but was granted the same jurisdiction as United States circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Due to the so-called "Toledo War", a boundary dispute with Ohio, Michigan did not become a state of the Union until January 26, 1837. On March 3, 1837, Congress passed an act that repealed the circuit court jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Michigan, assigned the District of Michigan to the Seventh Circuit, and established a U.S. circuit court for the district, Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcmi/>

On July 15, 1862, Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Michigan to the Eighth Circuit by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcmi/> and on January 28, 1863, the Congress again reorganized the Seventh and Eight Circuits and assigned Michigan to the Seventh Circuit, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcmi/> On February 24, 1863, Congress divided the District of Michigan into the Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each district, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcmi/>

Ross Wilkins was the only district judge to serve the District of Michigan. He was nominated by President Andrew Jackson on July 2, 1836, to the newly created seat, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 2, 1836. He received his commission on January 26, 1837. Upon termination of the District of Michigan, Wilkins was reassigned to the Eastern District of Michigan.<ref name=fjcmi/><ref>Judges of the District of Michigan Template:Webarchive, Federal Judicial Center.</ref>

Mississippi

The United States District Court for the District of Mississippi was established on April 3, 1818, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S390/><ref name=fjcms>U.S. District Courts of Mississippi, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It existed for over twenty years, and was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on June 18, 1838, by Template:USStat:<ref name=S390/><ref name=fjcms/>

The State of Mississippi, at the date of the act of March 3, 1837... constituted one district, in which the District Court was invested with the powers of a Circuit Court. By that act the extraordinary jurisdiction of the District Court was abrogated. But by the acts of June 18, 1838, and of February 16, 1839, the district of Mississippi was divided into two districts, the Northern and Southern; and by the latter act the powers of a Circuit Court were conferred on the District Court for the Northern District.<ref name=C42>Alfred Conkling, A Treatise on the Organization, Jurisdiction and Practice of the Courts of the United States (1842), p. 42.</ref>

Missouri

The United States District Court for the District of Missouri was established on March 16, 1822, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S393/><ref name=fjcmo>U.S. District Courts of Missouri, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> However, an act of Congress passed in 1845 and upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1851, extending federal admiralty jurisdiction to inland waterways, resulted in a substantial increase in the number of admiralty cases arising from traffic on the Mississippi River.<ref name="Bar">Template:Cite book</ref> These disputes involved "contracts of affreightment, collisions, mariners' wages, and other causes of admiralty jurisdiction", and litigants of matters arising in the port city of St. Louis found it inconvenient to travel far inland to Jefferson City for their cases to be tried.<ref name=Bar/> The District was therefore subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1857, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcmo/>

New Jersey

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=fjcnj>U.S. District Courts of New Jersey, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New Jersey and the United States District Court for the Western District of New Jersey on February 13, 1801, by the Judiciary Act of 1801, Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcnj/> with the judicial districts being headquartered in New Brunswick and Burlington, respectively. The repeal of the 1801 Act on March 8, 1802, by Template:USStat, restored New Jersey as a single judicial district.<ref name=fjcnj/> The only judge to serve on the briefly subdivided courts was Robert Morris, who had begun serving as a recess appointment to the District of New Jersey on August 28, 1790 and continued serving after the restoration of the single court, until June 2, 1815.<ref>Robert Morris, Federal Judicial Center.</ref>

New York

The United States District Court for the District of New York was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=S386>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 386.</ref><ref name=fjcny>U.S. District Courts of New York, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It existed for nearly twenty-five years before, on April 9, 1814, New York was divided into Northern and Southern Districts by Template:USStat.<ref name=S386/><ref name=fjcny/> These Districts were later further subdivided with the creation of Eastern District on February 25, 1865 by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcny/> and the Western District on May 12, 1900, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcny/>

North Carolina

The United States District Court for the District of North Carolina has a unique history among defunct district courts. It was established on June 4, 1790, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S389>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 389.</ref><ref name=fjcnc>U.S. District Courts of North Carolina, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> On June 9, 1794 it was subdivided into three districts by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcnc/> but on March 3, 1797, the three districts were abolished and the single District restored by Template:USStat,<ref name=fjcnc/> until April 29, 1802, when the state was again subdivided into three different districts by Template:USStat.<ref name=S389/><ref name=fjcnc/>

In both instances, these districts, unlike those with geographic designations that existed in other states, were titled by the names of the cities in which the courts sat. After the first division, they were styled the District of Edenton, the District of New Bern, and the District of Wilmington; after the second division, they were styled the District of Albemarle, the District of Cape Fear, and the District of Pamptico. However, in both instances, only one judge was authorized to serve all three districts, causing them to effectively operate as a single district.<ref name=fjcnc/> The latter combination was occasionally referred to by the cumbersome title of the United States District Court for the Albemarle, Cape Fear & Pamptico Districts of North Carolina. Judge Henry Potter's 55 years of service on this court during the period in which the state contained a single district, from April 1802 to December 1857, represents one of the longest terms ever held by a United States federal judge.

On June 4, 1872, North Carolina was re-divided into two Districts, Eastern and Western, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcnc/> The Middle District was created from portions of the Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1927, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcnc/>

Ohio

The United States District Court for the District of Ohio was established on February 19, 1803, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S392/><ref name=fjcoh>U.S. District Courts of Ohio, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on February 10, 1855, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcoh/>

Term start	Term end	United States Attorney<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1802	1803	William McMillan<ref>did not serve due to illness</ref>
1803	1804	Michael Baldwin
1804	1810	William Creighton Jr.
1810	1818	Samuel Herrick
1818	1823	John Crafts Wright
1823	1830	Joseph Benham
1830	1839	Noah Haynes Swayne
1839	1841	Israel Hamilton
1841	1846	Charles Anthony
1846	1850	Thomas W. Bartley
1850	1854	Samson Mason
1854	1855	Daniel O. Morton

Pennsylvania

The United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=S388>Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 388.</ref><ref name=fjcpa>U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by Template:USStat,<ref name=S388/><ref name=fjcpa/> into the Eastern and Western Districts, to be headquartered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, respectively.<ref name=S388/> Portions of these districts were subsequently subdivided into the Middle District on March 2, 1901, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcpa/>

South Carolina

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=fjcsc>U.S. District Courts of South Carolina, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It was subdivided into the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina and the United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina Districts on February 21, 1823 by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcsc/> The Eastern District was headquartered at Florence,<ref>The Florence, South Carolina courthouse, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> and the Western District was headquartered in Greenville.<ref>The Greenville, South Carolina courthouse, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The division was solely for the purposes of holding court – a single judge presided over both districts, and the act authorized no additional court staff.<ref name=fjcsc/>

In 1898 the United States Supreme Court held in Barrett v. United States<ref>Barrett v. United States, 169 U.S. 219 (1898).</ref> that South Carolina legally constituted a single judicial district. Congress made a more explicit effort to subdivide the District on March 3, 1911, by Template:USStat, Template:USStat. South Carolina was again Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized to serve both districts, effective January 1, 1912.<ref name=fjcsc/> Congress finally authorized an additional judgeship for the Western District, and assigned the sitting judge exclusively to the Eastern District, on March 3, 1915, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcsc/> However, on October 7, 1965, by Template:USStat, South Carolina was reorganized as a single judicial district with four judgeships authorized for the district court,<ref name=fjcsc/> and it has since remained a single District.

Judges of the Eastern District of South Carolina:

Judges of the Western District of South Carolina:

Tennessee

The United States District Court for the District of Tennessee was established with one judgeship on January 31, 1797, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S391/><ref name=fjctn>U.S. District Courts of Tennessee, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The judgeship was filled by President George Washington's appointment of John McNairy. Since Congress failed to assign the district to a circuit, the court had the jurisdiction of both a district court and a circuit court. Appeals from this one district court went directly to the United States Supreme Court.

On February 13, 1801, in the famous "Midnight Judges" Act of 1801, Template:USStat, Congress abolished the U.S. district court in Tennessee,<ref name=fjctn/> and expanded the number of circuits to six, provided for independent circuit court judgeships, and abolished the necessity of Supreme Court Justices riding the circuits. It was this legislation which created the grandfather of the present Sixth Circuit. The act provided for a "Sixth Circuit" comprising two districts in the State of Tennessee, one district in the State of Kentucky and one district, called the Ohio District, composed of the Ohio and Indiana territories (the latter including the present State of Michigan). The new Sixth Circuit Court was to be held at "Bairdstown" in the District of Kentucky, at Knoxville in the District of East Tennessee, at Nashville in the District of West Tennessee, and at Cincinnati in the District of Ohio. Unlike the other circuits which were provided with three circuit judges, the Sixth Circuit was to have only one circuit judge with district judges from Kentucky and Tennessee comprising the rest of the court. Any two judges constituted a quorum. New circuit judgeships were to be created as district judgeships in Kentucky and Tennessee became vacant.<ref>The Honorable Harry Phillips, "History of the Sixth Circuit Template:Webarchive".</ref>

The repeal of this Act restored the District on March 8, 1802, Template:USStat.<ref name=fjctn/> The District was divided into the Eastern and Western Districts on April 29, 1802.<ref name=S391/> On February 24, 1807, Congress again abolished the two districts and created the United States Circuit for the District of Tennessee. On March 3, 1837, Congress assigned the judicial district of Tennessee to the Eighth Circuit. On June 18, 1839, by Template:USStat, Congress divided Tennessee into three districts, Eastern, Middle, and Western.<ref name=S391/><ref name=C42/><ref name=fjctn/> Again, only one judgeship was allotted for all three districts. On July 15, 1862, Congress reassigned appellate jurisdiction to the Sixth Circuit. Finally, on June 14, 1878, Congress authorized a separate judgeship for each district of Tennessee.

Texas

File:1861 Galveston Customs and Courthouse.jpg

The oldest federal civil building in Texas, the 1861 Customs and Courthouse in Galveston, once housed the Southern District of Texas.

The United States District Court for the District of Texas was established on December 29, 1845, by Template:USStat. and based in Galveston, then the largest city in the state.<ref name=S394/><ref name=fjctx>U.S. District Courts of Texas, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> John Charles Watrous, appointed to the court by President James K. Polk in May 1846, was the only federal judge to sit for the district.<ref>Biography of John Charles Watrous, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 21, 1857, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjctx/> When the District was subdivided, Watrous continued as judge for the Eastern District only, while Thomas Howard DuVal<ref>Biography of Thomas Howard DuVal, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> was appointed to the Western District. Watrous continued serving in the Eastern District until 1870. From these Districts, Texas was further subdivided with the creation of a Northern District on February 24, 1879, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjctx/> The new Southern District was created on March 11, 1902, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjctx/>

Virginia

The United States District Court for the District of Virginia was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, Template:USStat, on September 24, 1789.<ref name=S388/><ref name=fjcva>U.S. District Courts of Virginia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref>

On February 13, 1801, the Judiciary Act of 1801, Template:USStat, divided Virginia into three judicial districts: the District of Virginia, which included the counties west of the Tidewater and south of the Rappahannock River; the District of Norfolk, which included the Tidewater counties south of the Rappahannock; and the District of Potomac, which included the counties north and east of the Rappahannock as well as Maryland counties along the Potomac.<ref name=fjcva/> Just over a year later, on March 8, 1802, the Judiciary Act of 1801 was repealed and Virginia became a single District again, Template:USStat, effective July 1, 1802.<ref name=fjcva/>

The District of Virginia was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on February 4, 1819, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S388/><ref name=fjcva/> At that time, West Virginia was still part of Virginia, and was encompassed in Virginia's Western District. With the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the American Civil War, the Western District of Virginia became the District of West Virginia, and those parts of the Western District that were not part of West Virginia were combined with the Eastern District to again form a single District of Virginia on June 11, 1864, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcva/> Congress again divided Virginia into Eastern and the Western Districts on February 3, 1871, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcva/>

Washington

The United States District Court for the District of Washington was established on April 5, 1890, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcwa>U.S. District Courts of Washington, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> The District was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1905, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcwa/> Only one judge was ever appointed to the District of Washington.

West Virginia

West Virginia split from the state of Virginia during the American Civil War. At that time, Virginia was already divided into an Eastern and Western District. Congress reorganized the Western District of Virginia to conform to the boundaries of the new state of West Virginia, renaming it the United States District Court for the District of West Virginia on June 11, 1864, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcwv>U.S. District Courts of West Virginia, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> This District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on January 22, 1901, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcwv/>

John Jay Jackson Jr., who had been appointed by Abraham Lincoln to what was then the Western District of Virginia, became the first judge of the District of West Virginia. He remained the only judge on that court until its subdivision.

Wisconsin

The United States District Court for the District of Wisconsin was established on May 29, 1848, by Template:USStat.<ref name=S394/><ref name=fjcwi>U.S. District Courts of Wisconsin, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.</ref> It was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on June 30, 1870, by Template:USStat.<ref name=fjcwi/> Only one judge was ever appointed to the District of Wisconsin.

See also

• List of courts of the United States
• List of United States district and territorial courts
• List of United States federal courthouses