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.
Alabama
The United States District Court for the District of Alabama was created on April 21, 1820, by . It was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on March 10, 1824, by . 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. 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. 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 , 51. The court was subdivided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1851, by .
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 . The boundary line was at the 37th parallel north. 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 , 84,
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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, . On February 23, 1847, The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on August 11, 1848, by .
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Illinois
thumb|right|180px|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, . 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, . The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on April 21, 1928, by .
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Iowa
The United States District Court for the District of Iowa was established on March 3, 1845, by . The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on July 20, 1882, by .
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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, , on September 24, 1789. 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, , abolished the U.S. district court in Kentucky,
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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. The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by , 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 , with a single judgeship. 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, .
Mississippi
The United States District Court for the District of Mississippi was established on April 3, 1818, by . It existed for over twenty years, and was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on June 18, 1838, by :
Missouri
The United States District Court for the District of Missouri was established on March 16, 1822, by . 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. 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. 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, ,
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, , on September 24, 1789. It existed for nearly twenty-five years before, on April 9, 1814, New York was divided into Northern and Southern Districts by .
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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 . On June 9, 1794 it was subdivided into three districts by ,
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Ohio
The United States District Court for the District of Ohio was established on February 19, 1803, by . The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on February 10, 1855, by .
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| William McMillan
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| Michael Baldwin
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| William Creighton Jr.
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| Samuel Herrick
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| John Crafts Wright
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| Joseph Benham
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| Noah Haynes Swayne
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| Israel Hamilton
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| Charles Anthony
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| Thomas W. Bartley
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| Samson Mason
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| Daniel O. Morton
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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, , on September 24, 1789. It was subdivided on April 20, 1818, by ,
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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, , on September 24, 1789. 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 . and the Western District was headquartered in Greenville. 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. that South Carolina legally constituted a single judicial district. Congress made a more explicit effort to subdivide the District on March 3, 1911, by , . South Carolina was again Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized to serve both districts, effective January 1, 1912.
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Washington
The United States District Court for the District of Washington was established on April 5, 1890, by . The District was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 2, 1905, by . This District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on January 22, 1901, by .
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Wisconsin
The United States District Court for the District of Wisconsin was established on May 29, 1848, by . It was subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on June 30, 1870, by .