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Iowa State...
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Iowa Counties
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Louisa County, Iowa
Louisa County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Wapello
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 402 |
Court House: 117 South Main Street
County Courthouse
Wapello, IA 52653-1547
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Louisa is named for either Louisa Massey of Dubuque, Iowa, who, according to legend, killed the
murderer of her brother; or Louisa County, Virginia.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Some claim Louisa County is named in
honor of Louisa Massey of Dubuque. She was famous in folklore to have slain the
murderer of her brother. Others think the name was in honor of Louisa County,
Virginia.
Louisa County has a lot of history. Once the site of a glacier, Louisa County
contains more than one-fourth of all archeological sites on the Great River Road
in Iowa. Artifacts from early hunters and farmers are found at those sites.
Louisa County was created out of a strip of land that was known as the Black
Hawk Purchase. The earliest settlers arrived in present day Louisa County in
1835, when it was still part of Demoine County. Louisa County itself was
established in 1836 and originated in 1837.
The first county seat was Lower Wapello, declared by the Wisconsin Legislature
in 1838. But, in January 1839 the Territorial Legislature of Iowa proposed that
an election be held to name a county seat. Wapello was declared the county seat
on March 4, 1839. One year later a one-story brick structure was constructed at
a cost of $1,300.
In 1854 the brick courthouse was replaced and then used as a school. The third
courthouse was constructed of stone that was quarried from the bluffs southwest
of Wapello. It cost $9,577 to complete.
There have been many battles between Wapello and Columbus Junction over the
county seat. Columbus Junction went as far as to construct a new courthouse; it
was later used as a high school. In all of these battles Columbus Junction lost.
As a consolation prize, Columbus Junction received the annual Louisa County Fair
The present courthouse is located on the site of the previous courthouse. The
two-story brick and stone building was completed in 1928 at a cost of $100,000.
On the courthouse grounds is a 20-pound Civil War cannon made by G.E. Parret of
Notre Dame, Indiana in 1861.
Source: Verl Lekwa
Neighboring Counties:
- Northeast: Muscatine County; Rock Island County, Ill.
- East: Mercer County, Ill.
- South: Des Moines County
- Southwest: Henry County
- Northwest: Washington County; Johnson County
Cities and Towns:
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- Columbus City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Columbus Junction |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Cotter |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Fredonia |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Grandview |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Letts |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Morning Sun |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Oakville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Wapello
(County Seat) |
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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State Symbols
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Official state symbols represent the cultural heritage
and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States These US state insignia, emblems, and mascots are designated by tradition or the
respective state legislatures |
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