Henry County, Iowa

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

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History

The boundaries of Henry County were defined by the Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin in 1836, but it was not legally established until 1837 by the Iowa Territorial Legislature. Prior to establishment of Jefferson County on the west in 1839, all of that part of the Black Hawk Purchase situated in the present county of Jefferson, was attached to Henry County for judicial purposes.

The county was named for Henry Dodge, who was a general in the Black Hawk War and was governor of the Wisconsin Territory.

The first courthouse in the state of Iowa was built in Mount Pleasant in 1839. A second courthouse, used from 1871 - 1914 was the remodeled “Hill Hall,” on the same block as the county jail. When it was put up for sale in 1914 it only brought $247.50. The present building was completed in 1914.

The earliest roads followed the tops of ridges and Indian paths. Later, they cut straight against the plain. Many of these roads still retain their original locations as originally surveyed and laid out.

Henry County was the only county in Iowa to have two military roads, present U.S. route 218 was one of them.

Sources:
Iowa Press Assn. “Who’s Who in Iowa” copyright 1940
Henry County Bicentennial Commission

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Louisa County
East: Des Moines County
South: Lee County
Southwest: Van Buren County
West: Jefferson County
Northwest: Washington County

Cities:

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County Resources:

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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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