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Iowa State...
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Iowa Counties
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Iowa Counties
There are 99 counties in Iowa. The first two counties, Des Moines County and Dubuque County,
were created in 1834 when Iowa was still part of the Michigan Territory. In preparation for Michigan's
statehood, part of Michigan Territory was formed into Wisconsin Territory in 1836]. Two years later, the western
portion was split off to become Iowa Territory. The south-eastern part of Iowa Territory became Iowa, the 29th
state in the union, on 28 December 1846, by which point 44 counties had been created. Counties continued to be
created by the state government until 1857, when the last county, Humboldt County, was created.
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Cass County, Iowa
Cass County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Atlantic
Year Organized: 1851
Square Miles: 564
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Court House: 5 W. 7th Street
County Courthouse
Atlantic, IA 50022-1461
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Cass is named for Lewis Cass, a senator and presidential candidate from Michigan
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
The county is named in honor of Lewis
Cass, a Michigan senator and a unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the
presidency in 1848. The county was established within its present boundaries in
1851 and originated in 1853.
Religious persecution was responsible for bringing the first white men to Cass
County. The Mormons, fleeing from Illinois, were the earliest settlers, and
established a community at Indiantown in 1846.
At Indiantown, two of the three commissioners selected to locate a county seat
were chosen. The site they chose was one mile from Indian Town and named Lewis.
Most of the people and businesses in Indian Town moved to Lewis shortly after it
was laid out. In 1856 a frame courthouse was built, and eight years later a
small stone building was completed for the county treasurer's office.
In 1857 there was an attempt to relocate the county seat to Grove City, it was
unsuccessful. On October 20, 1869, after a due canvass of the vote on the
re-location of the county seat, the Board declared the city of Atlantic the seat
of county government and ordered the county officers to that place.
In 1872 the first courthouse built in Atlantic was completed. Until it was
completed county offices were held in various empty buildings.
Ten years later the county built its second courthouse at Atlantic. The $65,000
building was destroyed by a fire in 1932. The fire started in the clock tower
and gutted all of the second floor. Most of the county records and equipment
were saved.
The present, fourth, courthouse was completed in 1934. While that was being
built, county offices were located in the Atlantic Motors building, where an
attempted robbery of the treasurer's safe took place. The robbers were
interrupted and escaped, but without any money.
The final cost of the fourth courthouse was $130,000: $65,000 came from a county
bond issue, $46,500 from insurance and the remaining was covered by a P.W.A.
federal grant. The concrete and brick building is three stories high. It was
dedicated on December 26, 1934, with the main speaker being the Governor of
Iowa, Clyde L. Herring.
The Board of Supervisors approved a new jail addition, which was dedicated in
1984.
Source: Joyce Jensen, Cass County Recorder
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Audubon County
- Northeast: Guthrie County
- East: Adair County
- Southeast: Adams County
- Southwest: Montgomery County
- West: Pottawattamie County
- Northwest: Shelby County
Cities and Towns:
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- Anita |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Atlantic
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Cumberland |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Griswold |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lewis |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Marne |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Massena |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wiota |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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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