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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.

Van Buren County, Iowa

Van Buren County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Keosauqua
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 485

Court House:

P.O. Box 475
County Courthouse
Keosauqua, IA 52565-0475

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Van Buren is named for Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Van Buren County was established on December 7, 1836 and was named in honor of Martin Van Buren, 8th president of the United States.

In the spring of 1837 the first court and county commissioners meeting was held at Farmington. On December 16, 1837, the Legislature of the Wisconsin territory passed an Act changing the county seat from Farmington to Rochester. This Act was vetoed by the territorial governor. At an election held in 1838, the city of Keosauqua edged out Bentonsport for the honor of being the county seat.

Another legislative Act approved on January 25, 1839, required the town to contribute at least $5000 in lots or materials for the erecting of a courthouse, if it wished to remain the county seat. On May 30, 1840, the county commissioners accepted a contract in the amount of $6500 from John Fairman and James Hall to build the courthouse. Sewall Kenny and Henry King were appointed as building agents. On January 7, 1841, the county commissioners rescinded the appointment of the building agents, transferring that responsibility to Edwin Manning, who finished the courthouse at a cost of $6712 in September of 1843.

The Van Buren County Courthouse is the oldest in Iowa and second oldest in the nation that has been in continuous use since its completion in 1843. It is of Greek Revival Style of architecture. Its massive support structure, framing material, and finish trims were taken from nearby trees. The brick was also of local production. At the time of its building, the courtroom on the second floor was the largest auditorium in Iowa unbroken by columns or pillars. Although the 10 foot square tower, which rose 16 feet above the comb of the building and the two walnut circular staircases have been gone for over 140 years, much that remains of the building is original. Major restoration of interior of the courthouse took place in 1981-83, with exterior renovations completed in 1997.

The first legal death penalty in Iowa, the only one in Van Buren County, was handed down in the courtroom in 1845, a case on a change of venue from Washington County.

The subject was found guilty and hanged north of the courthouse in "Hangman's Hollow" on April 4, 1846.

The walls of the courthouse display pictures of many of the attorneys and judges that practiced in the courtroom. Included in those is a picture of US District Court Judge, Henry C. Caldwell, who was the last judge named by President Abraham Lincoln.

Other buildings making up the courthouse complex include a Law Enforcement Center

located directly north of the courthouse. It was completed in 1993 with an addition added in 1998, replacing an old jail that was built in 1856. The county office building, located directly south of the courthouse was built in 1896, replacing one that was built in 1855 and destroyed by fire in 1896. An annex addition was constructed to the east of the county office building in 1978-79.

Source: John Finney, Van Buren County Auditor, 2002

Neighboring Counties:

North: Jefferson County
Northeast: Henry County
Southeast: Lee County; Clark County, Mo.
Southwest: Scotland County, Mo.
West: Davis County
Northwest: Wapello County

Cities and Towns:

- Birmingham	city	Incorporated Area
- Bonaparte	city	Incorporated Area
- Cantril	city	Incorporated Area
- Farmington	city	Incorporated Area
- Keosauqua (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Milton	city	Incorporated Area
- Mount Sterling	city	Incorporated Area
- Stockport	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."