Fremont County, Iowa

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

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History

Fremont County was established in 1847 and organized in 1850. It was named for General John Charles Fremont, who was a lieutenant in the Mexican War and is credited with the opening of west to white civilization.

Benjamin Rector was elected and sent to the state Legislature to represent Fremont County; however, he was only permitted to express his views -- not to vote. The first seat of government was at Austin, but no courthouse was built there, and court was held at the home and general store owned by A.H. Argyle.

The county seat was first named Dayton in 1851, but changed to Sidney at the next term of court. Sidney was selected to honor the name of the Ohio town of Clerk of District Court Milton Richards once lived in.

Fremont County has had three courthouses. The county outgrew its first courthouse soon, and a new, two-story courthouse was built in 1858. A gunny sack full of dynamite caused thousands of dollars of damage in 1863. There was much speculation concerning who caused the explosion -- some of the possibilities included Confederate guerillas securing money for their cause, "border ruffians" or Kansas "Jayhawkers," or thieves from Missouri or Nebraska.

In 1888, vandals struck again. Coal oil was poured throughout the building and set afire. A steel vault saved most of the records. Neither crime was ever solved.

In 1888, the county voted 295 to 219 to build a new courthouse, costs not to exceed $26,000. Things were no different then than they are now; final cost was $27,860. This courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

During World War II, a catwalk was built on top, and patriotic citizens scanned the skies for enemy planes.

Source: Mary Nenneman, Sidney

Neighboring Counties:

North: Mills County
Northeast: Montgomery County
East: Page County
Southeast: Atchison County, Mo.
West: Otoe County, Neb.
Northwest: Cass County, Neb.

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County Resource Guide

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.”

Penn Foster High School

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