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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.Winneshiek County, Iowa
Winneshiek County Education, Geography, and History
Winneshiek County is a county located in the state of Iowa. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 21,056. Winneshiek County was created on February 20, 1847. The county seat is Decorah. The county is named in honor of Winneshiek, a chief of the Winnebago Native American tribe.
Etymology - Origin of Winneshiek County Name
Winneshiek county is named for Winneshiek, a chief of the Winnebago Native American tribe.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Winneshiek County History
Winneshiek County is named after the
chief of the Winnebago Indians. Winneshiek was the adviser to the War Chief
Black Hawk.
In 1847 the early settlers asked for the organization of the county. On April 7,
1851 elections were held and the county seat was voted upon. The choices of
county seats were Lewiston, Moneek and Decorah. The favorite to win was Moneek,
but due to voting fraud and lost ballots, Decorah won with only 63 total votes
being cast. This election was followed by several other bids for the county
seat. Bids came from the town of Freeport, from 1854 to 1856. In 1898 Calmar
also made an attempt to gain the county seat, but it also failed.
The first courthouse was completed in 1858 at Decorah. The final cost was
approximately $18,000. In 1890 there was an attempt to replace this building
with a more appropriate one. After pleading with county officials, it was placed
on the ballot in 1898. It was overwhelmingly defeated. On November 3, 1902 it
was again voted on. This time the count was 2,580 for a new courthouse and 1,584
against. The voters approved $75,000 for the new courthouse, and one year later
they approved an additional $50,000 to complete the already-started project. The
cornerstone was laid August 22, 1903, and the new building was occupied in
November 1904 and is still in use today. In 1974-75 all new windows were put in
the courthouse.
A renovation project was done to the 2nd and 3rd floors of the courthouse in
1990 and 1991 with a portion paid through grant funding. The courthouse was also
repainted back to its original colors. In 2000 a new jail was built adjacent to
the Sheriff's office.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 690 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 690 square miles (1,800 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (0.04%) is water.
Winneshiek county is located in northeast Iowa. The county is a
largely a rural and agricultural county.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- North: Hancock County
- Northeast: Cerro Gordo County
- East: Franklin County
- Southeast: Hardin County
- South: Hamilton County
- Southwest: Webster County
- West: Humboldt County
- Northwest: Kossuth County
Education
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