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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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Iowa County, Iowa
Iowa County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Marengo
Year Organized: 1843
Square Miles: 586
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Court House: P.O. Box 126
County Courthouse
Marengo, IA 52301-0126
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Iowa is named for the Iowa River and the Iowa Native American tribe.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Iowa County derives its name from the
Iowa River, which runs through the county, and for the Ioway Indian tribe.
The county was established in 1843. The county seat, Marengo, was originated on
August 13, 1845, 14 years before it was even a town. It seems that a land
speculator by the name of E. C. Lyons beat the county officials to the land
office and bought the area of Marengo. It took some time for county officials to
round up the funds to purchase the county seat from Lyons. Local citizens who
contributed were paid back with town lots.
The county seat of Iowa County has always been Marengo, but not without a fight.
The first battle came when some settlers disliked the town name. "Marengo" comes
from Italy, where Napoleon Bonaparte gained a celebrated victory. The area of
the Iowa Valley that contains Marengo is said to resemble that same area in
Italy. The settlers changed the name to Valley Forge but later it was discovered
that they had no authority, so the name remained Marengo.
A second battle over the county seat came in March 1857, when the enemies of
Marengo started a movement to move the county seat to Genoa Bluffs. A petition
was presented to the judge asking that the question of the location of the
county seat be put on the general election on April 1857. It was soon
discovered, however, that the petition contained names of non-legal voters.
These names removed, the petition no longer contained sufficient numbers to call
for an election.
The final battle came from Williamsburg. A petition was presented, with the
sufficient number of signatures, and an election was held in November 1864.
Marengo won out by a vote of 968 to 500.
The first courthouse was a log cabin that cost $50 to build in 1847. It was
rejected by the county as being to small, but they did rent it for some years,
until 1850. That was when the second courthouse was completed. This more
elaborate building was used until 1861. Construction of a third courthouse began
in 1861 an the completed cost was $2,000. In 1869 this building underwent the
construction of an addition, but by 1890 the courthouse was too small for county
business.
The current courthouse was erected in 1892. It is a two-story, stone building
ornamented with turrets and a tower. It was designed by Foster and Liebbe and
constructed by P. H. Wind at a cost of $57,608.
Sources:
Dinwidde, James C., History of Iowa County Iowa, vol.1, S. J. Clarke Publishing
Co. , Chicago: 1915
Lillie, Pauline, Marengo, the County Seat, Marengo the Town, 1984
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Benton County
- Northeast: Linn County
- East: Johnson County
- Southeast: Washington County
- South: Keokuk County
- West: Poweshiek County
- Northwest: Tama County
Cities and Towns:
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- Ladora |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Marengo
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Millersburg |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- North English |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Parnell |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Victor |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Williamsburg |
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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