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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.Warren County, Iowa
Warren County Education, Geography, and History
Warren County is a county located in the state of Iowa. Based on the 2010 census, the
population was 46,225. Warren County was
created on January 13, 1846. The county
seat is
Indianola. The county is named in honor of Joseph
Warren (1741–1775), a patriot who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Warren County is included in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Etymology - Origin of Warren County Name
Warren county is named for Joseph Warren, a patriot who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Warren County History
Warren County was named in honor of
General Joseph Warren, who died on June 17, 1775 at the Battle of Breed's Hill
in the Revolutionary War.
The county was established in 1846. The first county elections were held on
January 1, 1849. The organizing sheriff and commissioners were appointed at this
election. The commissioners were put in charge of locating a county seat for the
newly-formed county.
In the summer of 1849 the commissioners set out to locate the center of the
county. When they located the center it was found to be in the river bottoms, so
they walked on, looking for level ground. They found level ground at the
present-day intersection of Iowa Highway 92 and U. S. Highway 65-69. The owner
of this land, who resided in Indiana, agreed to sell 80 acres at $10 per acre to
the county.
There are many different stories floating around about the origin of the county
seat name. One story goes that, after the county seat was selected, the
commissioners sat down to lunch. One of the commissioners had his lunch wrapped
in a copy of the New York Sun , and, after he was finished, he began to read the
paper. One article was about the unloading of camels in the Texas town of
Indianola. The name Indianola appealed to the commissioners, and they decided to
name the new county seat after the Texas town.
Until recent years that story was accepted. In 1941 the owner-editor of the
Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune, Don L. Berry was in Texas. He decided to
visit the namesake of Indianola to see what it looked like. The town had nearly
faded into extinction. After doing some research, Berry found that the camels
did not land at Indianola, Texas until seven years after Indianola, Iowa was all
ready named. The article that was about Indianola, Texas was about an outbreak
of cholera.
There are currently 17 Indianolas in the United States, of which the one in Iowa
is the largest.
The first courthouse was a two-story log cabin that doubled as a church and
school. This building was abandoned in 1868. A new courthouse was approved in an
election in 1865. Final cost of this building was estimated between $65,000 to
$89,000 but the contractor was allowed to collect only $50,211.45 - the
original contract price.
This courthouse was built of stone and bricks with a foundation of sandstone. It
was used from 1868 to 1938, when it was torn down.
There were several attempts to replace this building, but all failed. It was not
until the Public Works Administration offered $65,250 towards the construction
of a new courthouse that anything was done. On August 10, 1938 a proposal to
issue $80,000 in bonds for the erection of a new courthouse, plus the federal
grant, was approved.
The cornerstone of the third and present building was laid on December 3, 1938;
it was officially dedicated on August 24, 1939. The 65-foot x 113-foot building
is constructed of brick and Bedford stone. A large crowd of around 18,000 was on
hand to celebrate the completion of the building.
In 1988 an addition to the courthouse was built to improve and enlarge the jail
and add more office space.
Source: Judith K. Lathrop, Warren County Recorder
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 570 square miles (1,500 km2) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) (0.6%) is water.
Warren county is located close to the center of Iowa.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- North: Polk County
- East: Marion County
- Southeast: Lucas County
- Southwest: Clarke County
- West: Madison County
- Northwest: Dallas County
Education
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