A dry county is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
whose
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
forbids the sale of any kind of
alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the United States, mostly in the
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
.
A number of smaller jurisdictions also exist, such as cities, towns, and townships, which prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and are known as dry cities, dry towns, or dry townships. Dry jurisdictions can be contrasted with "wet" (in which alcohol sales are allowed and regulated) and "
moist" (in which some products or establishments are prohibited and not fully regulated, or a dry county containing wet cities).
Background
History
In 1906, just over half of U.S. counties were dry. The proportion was larger in some states; for example, in 1906, 54 of
Arkansas's 75 counties were completely dry, influenced by the
anti-liquor campaigns of the
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
(both
Southern and
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
) and
Methodists.
Although the
21st Amendment repeal
A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
ed nationwide
Prohibition in the United States
In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...
, prohibition under state or local laws is permitted. Prior to and after repeal of nationwide Prohibition, some states passed
local option laws granting counties and municipalities, either by
popular referendum
A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...
or
local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like.
China
In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...
, the ability to decide for themselves whether to allow
alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
within their jurisdiction. Many dry communities do not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, which could potentially cause a loss of profits and
taxes
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
from the sale of alcohol to their residents in wet (non-prohibition) areas.
The reason for maintaining prohibition at the local level is often religious in nature, as many evangelical
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
s discourage the consumption of alcohol by their followers (''see''
Christianity and alcohol
Christian views on alcohol are varied. Throughout the first 1,800 years of Church history, Christians generally consumed alcoholic beverages as a common part of everyday life and used "the fruit of the vine" in their central rite—the Eucharist ...
,
sumptuary law
Sumptuary laws (from Latin ''sūmptuāriae lēgēs'') are laws that try to regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expendi ...
, and
). In Utah, while state law does not allow for dry counties, laws designed to restrict the sale and consumption of alcohol are common in (but not exclusive to) this mostly
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
state. Consumption of alcohol is discouraged by the
LDS Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
.
A 2018 study of wet and dry counties in the U.S. found that "Even controlling for current
religious affiliations Religious identity is a specific type of identity formation. Particularly, it is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept. Religious identity is not necessarily the ...
, religious composition following the end of national Prohibition strongly predicts current alcohol restrictions."
In rural
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, restrictions on alcohol sales are motivated by problems with
alcohol use disorder
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
and
alcohol-related crime
Alcohol-related crime refers to criminal activities that involve alcohol use as well as violations of regulations covering the sale or use of alcohol; in other words, activities violating the alcohol laws. Underage drinking and drunk driving a ...
.
Transport
Since the 21st Amendment repealed nationwide Prohibition in the United States, alcohol prohibition legislation has been left to the discretion of each state, but that authority is not absolute. States within the United States and
other sovereign territories were once assumed to have the authority to regulate commerce with respect to alcohol traveling to, from, or through their jurisdictions.
However, one state's ban on alcohol may not impede interstate commerce between states who permit it.
The
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
held in ''
Granholm v. Heald'' (2005)
that states do not have the power to regulate interstate shipments of
alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
. Therefore, it may be likely that municipal, county, or state legislation banning possession of alcoholic beverages by passengers of vehicles operating in
interstate commerce
The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amo ...
(such as
trains
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
and interstate
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
lines) would be unconstitutional if passengers on such vehicles were simply passing through the area. Following two 1972 raids on
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
trains in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, dry states at the time, the bars on trains passing through the two states closed for the duration of the transit, but the alcohol stayed on board.
Prevalence
A 2004 survey by the
National Alcohol Beverage Control Association
The National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) was established in 1938 as the nationwide organization representing the interests of alcoholic beverage control states or monopoly sale states in the United States.
NABCA's stated mission ...
found that more than 500 municipalities in the United States are dry, including 83 in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. Of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
's 75 counties, 34 are dry. 36 of the 82 counties in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
were dry or moist by the time that state repealed its alcoholic prohibition on January 1, 2021, the date it came into force, making all its counties "wet" by default and allowing alcohol sales unless they vote to become dry again through a referendum. In
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, three of its 67 counties are dry, all of which are located in the northern part of the state, an area that has cultural ties to the
Deep South
The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...
.
Moore County, Tennessee, the home county of
Jack Daniel's
Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956.
Packaged in square bottles, Jack Daniel's "Black Label" T ...
, a major American producer of whiskey, is a dry county and so the product is not available at stores or restaurants within the county. The
distillery
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...
, however, sells commemorative bottles of whiskey on site.
Traveling to purchase alcohol
A study in
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
suggested that residents of dry counties have to drive farther from their homes to consume alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure,
although it found that a similar proportion of crashes in wet and dry counties are alcohol-related.
Other researchers have pointed to the same phenomenon. Winn and Giacopassi observed that residents of wet counties most likely have "shorter distances (to travel) between home and drinking establishments". From their study, Schulte and colleagues postulate that "it may be counter productive in that individuals are driving farther under the influence of alcohol, thus, increasing their exposure to crashes in dry counties".
Data from the
National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rela ...
(NHTSA) showed that in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, the fatality rate in alcohol-related accidents in dry counties was 6.8 per 10,000 people over a five-year period. That was three times the rate in wet counties: 1.9 per 10,000.
One study in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
noted that wet and dry counties are often adjacent and that alcoholic beverage sales outlets are often located immediately across county or even on state lines. Relatedly, another study in Arkansas previously found—somewhat counterintuitively—that crash fatalities are actually statistically significantly lower in wet as opposed to dry counties, likely due to the distance one must travel in order to access alcohol.
Tax revenue
Another issue a dry city or county may face is the loss of tax revenue because drinkers are willing to drive across city, county or state lines to obtain alcohol. Counties in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
have experienced this problem, which led to some of its residents to vote towards going wet to see their towns come back to life commercially. Although the idea of bringing more revenue and possibly new jobs to a town may be appealing from an economic standpoint, moral opposition remains present.
Crime
One study finds that the shift from bans on alcohol to legalization causes an increase in crime.
The study finds that "a 10% increase in drinking establishments is associated with a 3 to 5% increase in violent crime. The estimated relationship between drinking establishments and property crime is also positive, although smaller in magnitude".
Dry and moist counties in Kentucky had a higher rate of meth lab seizures than wet counties; a 2018 study of Kentucky counties concluded that "meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 35% if all counties became wet."
[
]
In popular culture
In the 1941 film '' Sergeant York'' an early humorous scene depicts a bar that straddles a state border. The Tennessee side is dry so the protagonist is refused a drink so he crosses over to the other end in Kentucky to order a drink.
During the eight-year run of ''The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The ...
'' and the subsequent three-year run of ''Mayberry R.F.D.
''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting character ...
'', the fictional Mayberry County, North Carolina, where Mayberry was located, was established to have been a dry county. A running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
on the show portrayed the Otis Campbell
Otis Campbell is the fictional "town drunk" in Mayberry on the American TV sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show.'' Otis was played by Hal Smith and made frequent appearances on the show from 1960 to 1967 but stopped appearing toward the end of the se ...
character as constantly ending up in jail due to his drunkenness. Otis was drunk so often, he would let himself into his regular jail cell using a key stored within reach of the jail's two comfortable cells and sleep off the effects of alcohol. Many plots would also involve out-of-town criminals committing alcohol-related crimes, such as running moonshine
Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
in Mayberry. Today, the only county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
that is completely dry is Graham County, which is on the Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
border.
In ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment
"Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" is the eighteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 16, 1997.. In the episode, Spri ...
", Springfield becomes a dry town after a disastrous Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
parade and Homer becomes a bootlegger in a parody of Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
.
The B-52s' 1989 album ''Cosmic Thing'' features a song called "Dry County", which is mainly about not having a lot to do in one. Georgia, which has 159 counties (more than any other state but Texas), is the band's home state and does still have 5 dry counties, although Athens-Clarke County is not one of them.
On Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...
2002 album, ''Melt'', it features the song "Dry County Girl." Throughout the song, the lyrics allude to a dry county. For instance, ''"Her lips won't touch the demon wine, But her eyes are full of pure moonshine, And I get drunk just holding her hand, I get high thinking I could be her man."''
''See also''
* Dry state
A dry state was a state in the United States in which the manufacture, distribution, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited or tightly restricted. Some states, such as North Dakota, entered the United States as dry states, and ...
* Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that, as of 2016, have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverage ...
* List of dry communities by U.S. state
The following list of dry areas by U.S. state details all of the counties / parishes / boroughs / municipalities in the United States, United States of America that ban the sale of Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverages.
For more background inform ...
* List of alcohol laws of the United States by state
In the United States, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution grants each state and territory the power to regulate intoxicating liquors within their jurisdiction. As such, laws pertaining to the production, sale, distributi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dry County
Alcohol law in the United States
County government in the United States
Prohibition in the United States