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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.Clayton County, Iowa
Clayton County Education, Geography, and History
Clayton County is a county located in the state of Iowa. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 18,129. The county was created in 1837. The county seat is Elkader. Clayton county is named in honor of John M. Clayton, United States Senator from Delaware and later Secretary of State under President Zachary Taylor.
Etymology - Origin of Clayton County Name
Clayton county is named for John M. Clayton, a Delaware senator and the eighteenth United States Secretary of
State.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Clayton County History
Clayton County derives its name from
U. S. senator and cabinet member John Middleton Clayton of Delaware. Clayton
assisted in the passage of the Wisconsin Territorial bill.
During its early years, Clayton County had a very mobile county seat. The first
county business was conducted in Prairie La Porte, established in 1837. Since
1847 the town has been called Guttenburg, in honor of Johannes Guttenburg. Court
was held in this first county seat in 1838, in rooms rented from Graybill's
Tavern at a cost of $5 per day.
The first courthouse was built in Prairie La Porte in 1840. Robert Hatfield was
paid $73.50 for the delivery of materials and David Hastings was given $23 for
the construction, making the total cost of the building $96.50.
An act to relocate the county seat was approved by the Territorial Governor in
January 1840. The new site was to be Allotat, but residents of the county voted
it down and retained Prairie La Porte in an August 1840 election. Later, in
1843, the voters approved the relocation of the county seat, this time to
Jacksonville.
The second courthouse, first at Jacksonville, was built in 1844. Total cost of
the project was $675. In May 1846, the town's name was changed to Garnavillo,
after a town in Ireland. Garnavillo remained the county seat for a decade. Then
it was removed to the town of Elkader, for only one year. It was then returned
to Guttenburg until 1860, when it again was moved back to Elkader. It has
remained at Elkader since then, fighting off challenges by McGregor and
Garnavillo.
The present courthouse was begun in the summer of 1867. Land for the building
was provided by the town of Elkader, and county funds were appropriated for the
$5,000 project. The cornerstone, laid in 1887, reads "July 4, A.L. 5877". The
A.L. stands for Anno Lucis, or Year of Light, a date used by Freemasons to
indicate the number of years that have elapsed since 4000 B.C., which is assumed
to be the date the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses.
When it became apparent that Elkader was to become the permanent county seat,
the project was completed in 1878, at a cost of $10,000. The extra $5,000 was
due to the "work having been done in a more substantial manner than the contract
called for"; the extra cost was paid for by the citizens of Elkader.
A 45-foot clock tower was added in 1896 at cost of $1,860. It was constructed by
Wm. F. Feulling of Farmersburg. It required daily winding until 1980, when it
was electrified.
Clayton County has lots of historic buildings and sites, including Spook Cave,
which is listed as the longest underground boat tour, and the Indian Mounds at
Effigy Park, which are more than 2,000 years old. The county is also proud of
Keystone Arch Bridge, a twin-arch bridge built in 1889 of local quarried
limestone. It took nine months to build the 346-foot bridge at a cost of
$16,282.49. The bridge is reputed to be the longest of its type west of the
Mississippi. Both the bridge and the courthouse have been placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Sources: "Courthouse", The Clayton County Register, 26 July, 1989:3
Jean Welsh, Clayton County Recorder
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 793 square miles (2,050 km2), of which 779 square miles (2,020 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (1.8%) is water.
Clayton county is located in east Iowa. The county is the fifth-largest county in Iowa by area.
Streams have deeply carved the valleys in Clayton county. Parts of
Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge, Effigy Mounds National
Monument, and the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge are located in this county.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- North: Allamakee County
- Northeast: Crawford County, Wis.
- East: Grant County, Wis.
- Southeast: Dubuque County
- South: Delaware County
- Southwest: Buchanan County
- West: Fayette County
- Northwest: Winneshiek County
Education
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