Click Image to Enlarge
Iowa Counties
There are ninety-nine 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.Marshall County, Iowa
Marshall County Education, Geography, and History
Marshall County is a county located in the state of Iowa. Based on the 2010 census, the
population was 40,648. The county was created on January 13, 1846. The
county seat is Marshalltown. Marshall
county is named after John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Marshall County comprises the Marshalltown, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Etymology - Origin of Marshall County Name
Marshall county is named for John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the United States.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Marshall County 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
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 573 square miles (1,480 km2), of which 573 square miles (1,480 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (0.1%) is water.
Marshall county is located close to the center of Iowa. The 95-acre
Sand Lake area is located in this county.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Hardin County (northwest)
- Grundy County (northeast)
- Tama County (east)
- Jasper County (south)
- Story County (west)
Education
Click Image to Enlarge
