Iowa State...
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Iowa Counties
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Appanoose County, Iowa
Appanoose County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat:
Year Organized:
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Court House: Put address here
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Named: Meaning of County Name State & County QuickFacts:
History
Appanoose County was established in
1843 and originated by the Iowa Territorial Legislature on January 13, 1846. It
is named for the chief of the Sac and the Fox Indian tribes who headed the peace
party during the Black Hawk War. Appanoose means "A Chief When a Child."
Appanoose County was one of the main coal mining areas in Iowa during the first
third of the 20th Century.
On November 1, 1844 the Legislative Assembly of Iowa ordered Andrew Leach and
William S. Whitaker to locate the county seat of Appanoose County. It was soon
located and named Chaldea. It was then platted by the county surveyor. The name
Chaldea was later changed to Senterville, in honor of Governor Senter, of
Tennessee. The spelling was changed and the county seat of Appanoose is
currently Centerville.
In the summer of 1847 it was decided that the county would erect a courthouse,
but nothing was done at this time. On September 10, that same year, the
dimensions and plans for the courthouse were decided upon and bids were sent
out. The contract was given to James Jackson for $160 and the finish work was
done by Jesse Wood for $119. The building was ready for occupation in April
1848. This courthouse was used until 1857.
The construction of a second courthouse began in 1860 and was completed in 1864.
During this time the county business was conducted in local churches. This
courthouse was destroyed by a fire on the Fourth of July. It seems that people
were lighting fireworks from the courthouse cupola and throwing them into the
air. One rocket evidently landed in the box with all the other fireworks and
exploded. The fire destroyed the cupola and most of the second floor. The county
continued to use the building but finally gave up in 1903.
The cornerstone for the third, and current courthouse was laid on May 21, 1903.
It cost $90,600 to build and was designed by the architects Smith and Gage. The
exterior walls are covered with Bedford stone veneer and the roof is all tile.
The clock tower, which rises from the middle of the building, sets the building
apart from all others. The courthouse is situated on a large town square and is
the pride of Centerville and Appanoose County.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Monroe County
- Northeast: Wapello County
- East: Davis County
- Southeast: Schuyler County, Mo.
- Southwest: Putnam County, Mo.
- West: Wayne County
- Northwest: Lucas County
Cities:
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we’ve given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the “characteristic features of
our country!”
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn’t the only reason to explore counties’ role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today’s counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990’s political slogan “Think globally, act locally.” |
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Penn Foster High School
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