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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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Kossuth County, Iowa
Kossuth County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Algona
Year Organized: 1851
Square Miles: 973
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Court House: 114 West State Street
County Courthouse
Algona, IA 50511-2613
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Kossuth is named for Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Kossuth is the largest county in Iowa
in area and was named for the Hungarian patriot, Lajos Kossuth. Kossuth County
was established in 1851 and originated in 1855. The first supervisors took
office in 1861. There were three supervisors, one for each township in county at
the time. In 1872, the county voted in favor of having a board of five
supervisors, two to be elected at large. The present districting system was set
up in 1900.
The present boundaries of the county were fixed by the legislature in 1857 by
blotting Bancroft County out of existence and adding it to Kossuth County. In
1870, Crocker County was created on the ruins of old Bancroft County, but the
Act was declared unconstitutional because the county did not contain 432 miles.
Thus Crocker County passed out of existence, and its 12 townships were added to
Kossuth County, reducing from 100 to 99 the number of counties in Iowa.
Until 1866, officials had only temporary quarters. The supervisors met in the
county judge's office, and the treasurer and recorder were housed in a log
addition to the old St. Nicholas hotel. Records were kept at home, or anywhere
that was convenient.
The original courthouse was built in 1867 where the old jail is now located. A
vote in 1871 approved construction of a new courthouse, which was built the next
year. This courthouse served the county until 1953.
After getting approval for a new courthouse in 1947, thrifty supervisors decided
to wait until the cost of material decreased before building. The Board invested
the bonds in interest-bearing US war bonds and earned more than $43,000 by the
time the new courthouse had been completed in 1955, for a total cost of
$520,605.
All of Kossuth County was included in the Sioux Indian claim against the US
government in connection with about 29 million acres of land ceded by Sioux
treaties from 1805 to 1858. Settlement of the claims was reached during the
summer of 1967, after 160 years of litigation.
Kossuth County boards have been continually plagued by water problems. On the
flat land left by the glaciers there was little runoff. In the spring, large
areas of the county were flooded. In the early days, there were many elections
on whether and where to build bridges. The votes usually carried, and the county
ran heavily in debt. As the years passed, the county established drainage
districts to solve the flooding problem.
There have been several attempts to divide the county, but none ever succeeded,
and Kossuth is still the largest county in area in the state.
Source: Karen Benschoter, Kossuth County Recorder, 2002
Neighboring Counties:
- Northeast: Faribault County, Minn.; Winnebago County
- Southeast: Hancock County; Wright County
- South: Humboldt County
- Southwest: Pocahontas County; Palo Alto County
- Northwest: Emmet County; Martin County, Minn.
Cities and Towns:
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- Algona
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Bancroft |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Burt |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fenton |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lakota |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Ledyard |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lone Rock |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Lu Verne |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Swea City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Titonka |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wesley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Whittemore |
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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