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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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Marshall County, Iowa
Marshall County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Marshalltown
Year Organized: 1846
Square Miles: 572
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Court House: 1 East Main Street
County Courthouse
Marshalltown, IA 50158-4915
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Marshall is named for John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the United States.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Marshall County is named in honor of
John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
The county was established in 1846 and originated in 1849. In 1851 Marietta was
selected as Marshall County's first county seat. A small building, funded
through the sale of town lots, was built and used as the first courthouse on
September 27, 1853. The total cost of the building was $508.75.
There were many clashes involving the Browden Guards and citizens of Marietta
when there was an attempt to move the county seat to Marshall (Marshalltown).
Eggs, vegetables and water were once even thrown in one of these clashes. It was
not until the Iowa Supreme Court decided in favor of Marshall in 1859 that the
clashes stopped.
Following this decision the county seat was moved to Marshall, where a
courthouse was already waiting. This courthouse was built by the Marshall Town
Hall Company and the citizens of Marshall, at no cost to the county.
In May 1863 the town of Marshall changed its named to Marshalltown. This was
done to avoid confusion with another Marshall in Henry County.
By the middle of the 1870s the second courthouse was badly in need of repair. In
1883 a new courthouse was approved in a special election.
The third courthouse was dedicated on November 18, 1886. It was constructed of
limestone from Marshall County at a cost of $150,000. There were several
attempts to replace this building with a county-city building; all of them
failed. The State Fire Marshall ordered the building repaired or removed in
1973. At this time the building was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The Friends of the Courthouse Committee, a newly-formed organization,
decided to save the building. A referendum was held and by a vote of 5,399 to
3,550, it was decided to restore the 1886 courthouse.
A $2,695,692 contract was awarded to Metal Structures in the fall of 1975. An
additional $290,000 was spent on architecture fees, moving and rental space for
the temporarily relocated offices.
Some of the restoration included the removal of the 16-foot cap of the cupola,
installation of elevators, construction of a floor between old main floor and
the courtroom floor and new roof was also added. These restorations were paid
through a matching grant-in-aid program from the Department of the Interior,
under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
Source: Jeff Heil, Marshall County Auditor, 2002
Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
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- Albion |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Clemons |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Ferguson |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Gilman |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Haverhill |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Laurel |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Le Grand |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Liscomb |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Marshalltown
(County
Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Melbourne |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Rhodes |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- St. Anthony |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- State Center |
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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