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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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Palo Alto County, Iowa
Palo Alto County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Emmetsburg
Year Organized: 1851
Square Miles: 564 |
Court House: 1010 Broadway Street
County Courthouse
Emmetsburg, IA 50536-2483
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Palo Alto is named for the Battle of Palo Alto in the Mexican-American War.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Palo Alto County is named for the
first battlefield victory in the Mexican War, which was fought on May 8, 1846.
The county was established in 1851. The first settlement in the county was at
West Bend. In 1857 some men of Palo Alto County joined the relief expedition
from Fort Dodge to the scene of the Spirit Lake Massacre. (See Dickinson
County.) West Bend provided food and shelter for both the military group and
survivors of the massacre.
As soon as the county was organized on December 20, 1858, three locating
commissioners met to locate the site of the county seat. The site they selected
was a small village called Paoli, although county business was taken care of at
a placed called Soda Bar.
County swamp land was sold to pay for the courthouse and a school in Paoli. The
two-story brick structure collapsed during its construction. County officials
decided to rebuild the building, this time only half the size. The courthouse
was finally completed in 1859.
In 1874, representatives of a railroad company met with businessmen of Old Town,
the most established community at the time, proposing a mass move. Having
platted the new town, the railroad was willing to give businessmen choice lots
if they would move. On September 2, the first business moved. By December, the
town of Emmetsburg had come into existence, to become the county seat in 1875.
In 1880 a brick courthouse was built in Emmetsburg, which is named after the
Irish patriot Robert Emmet. This 1880s building has undergone extensive repairs
over the years. Originally faced with yellow brick, it was refaced with red
brick during World War I. A tall tower was removed in the 1920s, and the jail
was removed from the basement and relocated. It was extensively remodeled in
1970, and a two-story and basement addition was completed in 1976-1977.
Out front, on the courthouse lawn, stands a statue of Robert Emmet and a rock
appropriately named the "Blarney Stone."
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Emmet County
- Northeast: Kossuth County
- Southeast: Humboldt County
- South: Pocahontas County
- Southwest: Buena Vista County
- West: Clay County
- Northwest: Dickinson County
Cities and Towns:
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- Ayrshire |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Curlew |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Cylinder |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Emmetsburg
(County
Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Graettinger |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Mallard |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Rodman |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Ruthven |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- West Bend |
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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