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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.

Decatur County, Iowa

Decatur County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Leon
Year Organized: 1846
Square Miles: 532

Court House:

207 North Main
County Courthouse
Leon, IA 50144-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Decatur is named for Stephen Decatur, a naval hero of the War of 1812.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Decatur County was established in 1846 and organized in 1850. It is named after Stephen Decatur, an American naval hero of the War of 1812.

An area for the county seat was selected by the county commissioners and named Decatur. The public objected, and prevailed upon the General Assembly to order a vote to establish a county seat. The majority vote in 1853 favored moving the county seat a few miles to the east and naming it Independence.

Citizens of Decatur refused to relinquish the county records, so the records were taken under cover of darkness to Independence with a wagon and a team of oxen.

Later it was discovered that there was another town by the same name in Buchanan County. Decatur County then changed its county seat's name to South Independence. In 1855, the name was changed to Leon.

It is evident that not much business was transacted at the county seat in these first years, as it was said the county clerk of 1852 carried all the important papers of his office in his hat!

The first courthouse was 20 by 22 feet and 14 feet high, made of logs for $375 in 1851. After only a few years, the crude log structure was outgrown and a new courthouse built to replace it. The buildings which followed this old log courthouse, until the one which stands today, seemed to exist under a streak of bad luck. The first was a small frame building which was soon declared unusable. A new one was begun but a windstorm destroyed it before it could be finished. The next was razed by a fire on March 31, 1874. One book from the auditor's office and one book from the clerk's office survived. The safe in the treasurer's office contained more than $33,000, and when the rubbish was cleared and the safe opened, the money was found intact. A snowstorm came just in time to keep the flames from destroying other parts of the town.

After the misfortune of the previous courthouses, the people of the county were determined to build one which would be more resistant to fire and wind. Consequently, in 1875, at an approximate cost of $20,000, a brick courthouse was completed. However it was not burglar-proof. On April 1, 1877, burglars, attempting to rob the treasurer's office, broke into the courthouse, put a charge of dynamite under the safe, and blew the entire west side of the courthouse away. The sheriff and treasurer were called, the safe once again recovered from the rubbish, and once again, all money was found intact. Voters passed a resolution to build another courthouse in 1905. This time the courthouse was built of iron, steel, stone, tile, brick, marble and granite – completely fireproof and a safe place to keep valuable records. The structure, still in use today, was dedicated in 1908 and cost $70,000.

Sources:
The History of Decatur County, Iowa 1970 by Himena V. Hoffman
William Greenwood, Decatur County Auditor, 2002

Neighboring Counties:

North: Clarke County
Northeast: Lucas County
East: Wayne County
Southeast: Mercer County, Mo.
Southwest: Harrison County, Mo.
West: Ringgold County
Northwest: Union County

Cities and Towns:

- Davis City	city	Incorporated Area
- Decatur City	city	Incorporated Area
- Garden Grove	city	Incorporated Area
- Grand River	city	Incorporated Area
- Lamoni	city	Incorporated Area
- Leon (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Pleasanton	city	Incorporated Area
- Van Wert	city	Incorporated Area
- Weldon	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."