County Number
|
County Name
|
County Seat |
Origin Date
|
Origin of County Name
|
01 |
Adair |
Greenfield |
1855 |
John Adair who was a general during War of 1812 |
02 |
Adams |
Corning |
1853 |
John Adams, 2nd president of U.S. |
03 |
Allamakee |
Waukon |
1849 |
Allan Makee a local Indian trader. |
04 |
Appanoose |
Centerville |
1846 |
Sac Indian chief. |
05 |
Audubon |
Audubon |
1855 |
John James Audubon, artist and naturalist. |
06 |
Benton |
Vinton |
1846 |
Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. |
07 |
Black Hawk |
Waterloo |
1853 |
Sac Indian chief. |
08 |
Boone |
Boone |
1849 |
Nathan Boone an army officer in the Iowa Territory. |
09 |
Bremer |
Waverly |
1853 |
Fredricka Bremer a Swedish traveler and author. |
10 |
Buchanan |
Independence |
1846 |
James Buchanan, 15th president of U.S. |
11 |
Buena Vista |
Storm Lake |
1859 |
Final victory field of General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War. |
12 |
Butler |
Allison |
1854 |
William O. Butler, general in the Mexican War. |
13 |
Calhoun |
Rockwell City |
1855 |
John Calhoun, vice president of the U.S. (1825-1832). |
14 |
Carroll |
Carroll |
1855 |
Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence. |
15 |
Cass |
Atlantic |
1853 |
Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. |
16 |
Cedar |
Tipton |
1838 |
Red Cedar River running through the county. |
17 |
Cerro Gordo |
Mason City |
1855 |
Famous battlefield of the Mexican War. |
18 |
Cherokee |
Cherokee |
1857 |
Famous southern Indian tribe. |
19 |
Chickasaw |
New Hampton |
1853 |
Prominent Indian nation located in the south. |
20 |
Clarke |
Osceola |
1851 |
James Clarke, last governor of the Iowa Territory. |
21 |
Clay |
Spencer |
1858 |
Lt. Col. Henry Clay, Jr. of Kentucky, who fell at the battle of Buena Vista. |
22 |
Clayton |
Eldader |
1838 |
Senator John Middleton Clayton of Delaware. |
23 |
Clinton |
Clinton |
1840 |
DeWitt Clinton, 5th governor of New York. |
24 |
Crawford |
Denison |
1855 |
William H. Crawford, secretary of the U.S. treasury (1817-1825). |
25 |
Dallas |
Adel |
1847 |
George Mifflin Dallas, vice president of U.S. (1845-1849). |
26 |
Davis |
Bloomfield |
1844 |
Garret Davis, representative from Kentucky. |
27 |
Decatur |
Leon |
1850 |
Stephen Decatur, American naval officer. |
28 |
Delaware |
Manchester |
1844 |
The state of Delaware. |
29 |
Des Moines |
Burlington |
1834 |
Des Moines River which runs through southeastern Iowa. |
30 |
Dickinson |
Spirit Lake |
1858 |
Senator Daniel S. Dickinson of New York. |
31 |
Dubuque |
Dubuque |
1834 |
Julien Du Buque, 1st white settler in Iowa. |
32 |
Emmet |
Estherville |
1859 |
Robert Emmet, Irish nationalist (1778-1803). |
33 |
Fayette |
West Union |
1851 |
Marquises de Lafayette, French general and statesman. |
34 |
Floyd |
Charles City |
1854 |
Sgt. Charles Floyd of Lewis and Clarke's expedition. Died 1804 and was buried on the banks of Missouri River. First white man whose death and burial in Iowa are on record. |
35 |
Franklin |
Hampton |
1855 |
Benjamin Franling, American statesman and philosopher. |
36 |
Fremont |
Sidney |
1850 |
John Charles Fremont, lieutenant colonel in the Mexican War. |
37 |
Greene |
Jefferson |
1854 |
Nathaniel Greene, general in the Revolutionary War. |
38 |
Grundy |
Grundy Center |
1856 |
Felix Grundy, chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court and U.S. representative and senator from Tennessee. |
39 |
Guthrie |
Guthrie Center |
1851 |
Edwin Guthrie, captain in the Iowa volunteers during the Mexican War. |
40 |
Hamilton |
Webster City |
1857 |
William W. Hamilton, president of the Iowa Senate (1856-1857). |
41 |
Hancock |
Garner |
1858 |
John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. |
42 |
Hardin |
Eldora |
1853 |
John J. Hardin, Illinois colonel killed in the Mexican War. |
43 |
Harrison |
Logan |
1853 |
William Henry Harrison, 9th president of U.S. |
44 |
Henry |
Mount Pleasant |
1837 |
Gen. Henry Dodge, governor of Wisconsin Territory. |
45 |
Howard |
Cresco |
1855 |
Tighlman A. Howard, general from Indiana. |
46 |
Humboldt |
Dakota City |
1857 |
Baron Friedrich Alexander von Humboldt, German scientist. |
47 |
Ida |
Ida Grove |
1855 or 1858 |
Ida Smith, first white child born in what is now Ida Grove (1856). |
48 |
Iowa |
Marengo |
1845 |
Iowa River running through the county. |
49 |
Jackson |
Maquoketa |
1837 |
Andrew Jackson, 7th president of U.S. |
50 |
Jasper |
Newton |
1846 |
William Jasper, sergeant in the Revolutionary War. |
51 |
Jefferson |
Fairfield |
1839 |
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of U.S. |
52 |
Johnson |
Iowa City |
1838 |
Richard Mentor Johnson, vice president of U.S. (1837-1841). |
53 |
Jones |
Anamosa |
1838-1847 |
George Wallace Jones, 1st delegate in Congress from the Wisconsin Territory. |
54 |
Keokuk |
Sigourney |
1844 |
Sac Indian chief. |
55 |
Kossuth |
Algona |
1855 |
Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian patriot and statesman (1802-1894). |
56 |
Lee |
Fort Madison |
1838 |
A New York land company that owned extensive interests in the half breed tract. |
57 |
Linn |
Cedar Rapids |
1839 |
Senator Lewis Field Linn of Missouri. |
58 |
Louisa |
Wapello |
1837 |
Louisa Massey, area folk heroine who avenged her brother's murder by slaying his assassin. |
59 |
Lucas |
Chariton |
1894 |
Robert Lucas, 1st governor of Iowa Territory. |
60 |
Lyon |
Rock Rapids |
1872 |
Nathaniel Lyon, brigadier general in the Mexican and Seminole Wars. |
61 |
Madison |
Winterset |
1849 |
James Madison, 4th president of U.S. |
62 |
Mahaska |
Oskaloosa |
1844 |
Chief of the Iowa tribe. Name is interpreted as "White Cloud." |
63 |
Marion |
Knoxville |
1845 |
Francis Marion, American commander in the Revolutionary War. |
64 |
Marshall |
Marshalltown |
1849 |
John Marshall, 4th chief justice of U.S. |
65 |
Mills |
Glenwood |
1851 |
Major Frederick Mills, Iowa officer in the Mexican War. |
66 |
Mitchell |
Osage |
1854 |
John Mitchell, Irish refugee of 1848. |
67 |
Monona |
Onawa |
1854 |
An Indian girl who, believing her white lover was killed by her people, jumped from a high rock into the Mississippi River. |
68 |
Monroe |
Albia |
1845 |
James Monroe, 5th president of U.S. |
69 |
Montgomery |
Red Oak |
1853 |
Richard Montgomery, general killed at the Assault at Quebec (1775). |
70 |
Muscatine |
Muscatine |
1837 |
Indian word thought to mean "prairie." |
71 |
O'Brien |
Primghar |
1860 |
William Smith O'Brien, leader for Irish independence in 1848. |
72 |
Osceola |
Sibley |
1871 |
Seminole Indian chief. |
73 |
Page |
Clarinda |
1851 |
John Page, captain in the 4th U.S. Infantry and fatally wounded in the battle of Palo Alto. |
74 |
Palo Alto |
Emmetsburg |
1858 |
First battlefield victory in the Mexican War. |
75 |
Plymouth |
LeMars |
1858 |
Landing place of the Mayflower pilgrims. |
76 |
Pocahontas |
Pocahontas |
1859 |
Virginia Indian princess. |
77 |
Polk |
Des Moines |
1846 |
James Knox Polk, 11th president of the U.S. |
78 |
Pottawattamie |
Council Bluffs |
1837 |
Indian tribe and former possessor of Iowa Territory. |
79 |
Poweshiek |
Montezuma |
1837 |
Fox-Mesquaki Indian chief. |
80 |
Ringgold |
Mount Ayr |
1855 |
Major Samuel Ringgold, fatally wounded in the Mexican War. |
81 |
Sac |
Sac City |
1856 |
Indigenous Iowa Indian tribe. Name means "red bank." |
82 |
Scott |
Davenport |
1837 |
Major General Winfield Scott, negotiated 1st treaty purchasing lands in Iowa from Indians. |
83 |
Shelby |
Harlan |
1853 |
General Isaac Shelby, 1st governor of Kentucky. |
84 |
Sioux |
Orange City |
1860 |
Indian tribe indigenous to what is now Iowa and Minnesota. Also known as the Dakota tribe. |
85 |
Story |
Nevada |
1853 |
Joseph Story, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. |
86 |
Tama |
Toledo |
1853 |
A Fox Indian chief. Also believed to be the name of Chief Poweshiek's wife. |
87 |
Taylor |
Bedford |
1851 |
General Zachary Taylor, 12th president of U.S. |
88 |
Union |
Creston |
1853 |
Union of the states. |
89 |
Van Buren |
Keosauqua |
1838 |
Martin Van Buren, 8th president of U.S. |
90 |
Wapello |
Ottumwa |
1844 |
Fox Indian tribes chief. |
91 |
Warren |
Indianola |
1849 |
General Joseph Warren of the Revolutionary War. |
92 |
Washington |
Washington |
1839 |
George Washington, 1st president of U.S. |
93 |
Wayne |
Corydon |
1851 |
General Anthony Wayne of the Revolutionary War. |
94 |
Webster |
Fort Dodge |
1857 |
Daniel Webster, American statesman and orator. |
95 |
Winnebago |
Forest City |
1857 |
Indigenous Iowa Indian tribe. |
96 |
Winneshiek |
Decorah |
1851 |
Winnebago Indian chief. |
97 |
Woodbury |
Sioux City |
1853 |
Levi Woodbury, New Hampshire and U.S. statesman. |
98 |
Worth |
Northwood |
1858 |
William J. Worth, major general in the Mexican War. |
99 |
Wright |
Clarion |
1855 |
Silas Wright, 12th governor of New York; and Joseph A. Wright, governor of Indiana. |
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Abolished/Renamed and/or disbanded Iowa Counties
|
Name |
Created |
|
Discontinued, Renamed or Abolished |
Parent Counties (Organized or Unorganized) |
Bancroft |
1851 |
|
1855 |
Unorganized (Delaware, Polk), *Boone |
Buncombe |
1851 |
|
1861- Renamed
to Lyon County |
Woodbury |
Cook |
1836 |
|
1838 -abolished |
Des Moines, *Muscatine |
Crocker |
1870 |
|
1871 - Abolished |
Kossuth |
Fox |
1851 |
|
1853 - Renamed to Calhoun County |
Unorganized (Delaware, Polk) |
Howard |
1816 |
|
Became part of Missouri territory |
St. Louis, Washington, Unorganized (St. Charles) |
Kishkekush |
1843 |
|
1846 - renamed to Monroe County |
Unorganized (Henry), *Jefferson, *Wapello |
Risley |
1851 |
|
1853 - Abolished |
Unorganized (Delaware, Polk) |
Slaughter |
1838 |
|
1853 - Renamed to Washington Cty |
Henry, Louisa, Muscatine, Unorganized |
Wahkaw |
1851 |
|
1853 - Renamed to Woodbury Cty |
Unorganized (Delaware, Polk) |
Yell |
1851 |
|
1853 - Abolished |
Unorganized (Delaware, Polk) |