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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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Poweshiek County, Iowa
Poweshiek County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Montezuma
Year Organized: 1843
Square Miles: 585 |
Court House: P.O. Box 57
County Courthouse
Montezuma, IA 50171-0057
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Poweshiek is named for Poweshiek, a Fox chief that supported peace in the Black Hawk War.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
The county was originally part of the
county of Keokuk from 1837 to 1840 and was subsequently attached at different
times to both Iowa and Mahaska counties. The county is named in honor of Chief
Poweshiek, Fox-Mesquaki Indian Chief, who was for peace in the Black Hawk War.
The present area of the county was said to be the hunting and fishing grounds
for Chief Poweshiek.
The first settler in Poweshiek County, after the Indians departed, was Richard
B. Ogden who came in the fall of 1843. The county was formally organized on
April 3, 1848, the date on which the first election was conducted. David
Edmundson, John White, and John Rose, residents of the counties of Jasper,
Mhaska, and Polk, were appointed commissioners for the purpose of locating a
site for the county seat and providing for its establishment.
Montezuma, the county seat, was laid out in June 1848. Early history says that
in the settling of the county, it was thought that the northern part of the
county would never be occupied. Therefore there was no difficulty in locating
the county seat in the central township of the southern tier of the county.
The first courthouse was built in Montezuma in 1850. The courthouse was a
two-story wooden structure with the courtroom on the first floor and the offices
of the judge, clerk, sheriff and the treasurer on the second floor. A woodcut of
the building shows that an outside stairway connected the two floors. This
building was used as a courthouse, school, church, and a social gathering place
until 1857. In 1857 the construction of the county's second and current
courthouse was begun, thus making it one of the oldest courthouses in Iowa. A
property tax of one mill on the dollar was levied to pay for the building.
The newly constructed building was only the second permanent courthouse
structure to be built in the state and is considered by the State Historical
Society to be one of the finest examples of early courthouse architecture.
The total cost of this courthouse was $21,928.15. It is constructed of brick and
its foundation, caps and sills are of limestone. Over the years the building has
undergone several changes. In 1890 an addition was completed, and in 1933-1934
the courthouse was raised, and a full basement and new foundation were
completed. This project cost approximately $15,000 to complete.
Neighboring Counties:
- North: Tama County
- Northeast: Benton County
- East: Iowa County
- Southeast: Keokuk County
- South: Mahaska County
- West: Jasper County
- Northwest: Marshall County
Cities and Towns:
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- Brooklyn |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Deep River |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Grinnell |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Guernsey |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Hartwick |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Malcom |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Montezuma
(County
Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Oakland Acres |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Searsboro |
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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