Visit Iowa Counties -

A county by county photo journey through Iowa.  Photos are collected from friends, family, the Internet and other sources. They will be removed if you e-mail me at JaycoleS@gmail.com.   If you have a photo you would like to share with us please send it to me.

Click on a County to be taken to its page. Click on a Photo to enlarge it.

Adair Adams Allamakee Appanoose Audubon Benton Black Hawk Boone Bremer Buchanan Buena Vista Butler Calhoun Carroll Cass Cedar Cerro Gordo Cherokee Chickasaw Clarke Clay Clayton Clinton Crawford Dallas Davis Decatur Delaware Des Moines Dickinson Dubuque Emmet Fayette

Floyd Franklin Fremont Greene Grundy Guthrie Hamilton Hancock Hardin Harrison Henry Howard Humboldt Ida Iowa Jackson Jasper Jefferson Johnson Jones Keokuk Kossuth Lee Linn Louisa Lucas Lyon Madison Mahaska Marion Marshall Mills Mitchell

Monona Monroe Montgomery Muscatine O'Brien Osceola Page Palo Alto Plymouth Pocahontas Polk Pottawattamie Poweshiek Ringgold Sac Scott Shelby Sioux Story Tama Taylor Union Van Buren Wapello Warren Washington Wayne Webster Winnebago Winneshiek Woodbury Worth Wright

County location maps and historical notes from Wikipedia.

Adair County

Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. Its county seat is Greenfield

Adair County was formed in 1851 from sections of Pottawattamie County. It was named for John Adair, a general in the War of 1812, and the eighth Governor of Kentucky.

Adams County

Adams County was established by the state legislature in 1851 and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams, or his son, the sixth President, John Quincy Adams (sources differ). The county was finally organized and separated from Pottawattamie County on March 12, 1853. Its original size was later reduced by the creation of Montgomery and Union counties. The first county seat was Quincy. In 1872, it was moved to Corning.

Allamakee County

Allamakee County (pronounced AL-uh-muh-KEY) is the northeastern-most county located in the U.S. state of Iowa.   Its county seat is Waukon. Allamakee County was formed on February 20, 1847 from free territory. The first Allamakee County Courthouse, built in 1861, now serves as the Allamakee County Historical Museum. The present Allamakee County Court House was built in 1940. Both courthouse buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This is the original Allamakee County Court House, located in Wakon. It was built in 1861, and has now been preserved as a county historical museum since 1964.
Photo by Bob Kelly

Lutheran church near Wakon, Iowa `Photo by Bob Kelly

Wexford Catholic Church SE of Lansing, that is part of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Lansing. It has been a viable church in this beautiful setting since 1848
Photos by Bob Kelly

Appanoose County

Appanoose County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa.  Its county seat is Centerville.  Appanoose County was formed on February 17, 1843, from open territory. It was named for the Meskwaki Chief Appanoose, who did not engage in war against Black Hawk, advocating peace. The present county seat was formerly called Chaldea, and was later renamed to Senterville in honor of Governor Senter of Tennessee. In April 1848, the courthouse, constructed at the expense of $160, was put into use and served as such until 1857. The second courthouse was opened in 1864, and was burned down to the first floor during an explosive Fourth of July fireworks demonstration. The third courthouse was dedicated on May 21, 1903, and remains in use.

Audubon County

Audubon County was formed on January 15, 1851 from sections of Pottawattamie County. It was named after John James Audubon. The current Audubon County Court House was opened in 1940. Its county seat is Audubon

Attractions     

Audubon County Courthouse  - Photo by Bob Kelly

Albert the Bull - Photo by Bob Kelly

Benton County

Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. Its county seat is Vinton. The county is named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from Missouri.

Black Hawk County

Black Hawk County is a county located in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Iowa.  Black Hawk County has the fourth largest population for counties in the state. The majority of the county's population resides in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls urbanized area.Waterloo, the county seat, is located approximately 65 miles (105 km) east of I-35 at the intersection of U.S. Highways 20, 63 and 218. The city of Cedar Falls is located approximately eight miles west of Waterloo.  Black Hawk County was formed on February 17, 1843 from sections of Buchanan County. It was named after Black Hawk, a Sauk leader during the 1832 Black Hawk War.

Boone County

Boone is a city in Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States.

Coal mining played an important part in the early history of the Boone area. Local blacksmiths were already mining coal from the banks of Honey Creek south of what would become Boone in 1849.

Boone was platted as a town in 1865 by John Insley Blair. It was incorporated the following year, when the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company railroad station was built there. The town was originally named "Montana";^[5] it was renamed to Boone in 1877

Stone Bridge - Ledges State Park  - Photo by Bob Kelly

A meadow area at Ledges State Park near Boone, Iowa  - Photo by Bob Kelly

Found just south of Madrid - Photo by Bob Kelly

A classical small town bank, abandoned in Pilot Mound, Iowa. This place is built like a tank and will be around a long time!  Photo by Bob Kelly

Photo by Bob Kelly

This stone bridge over Mill Creek can be found in the tiny sleepy little hamlet of Moingona just a few miles west of Boone and a mile south of highway 30 (turn at the ski slope area). Originally a railroad went across this bridge, but only the bridge remains and is quite lovely. It is part of the Kate Shelley Park that is there as well, which shows an old train station and some other memorabilia. Many people do not know that there is a little village down there, but it is worth a look. This Kate Shelley is the same person for whom the high bridge west of Boone is named, who also was a heroine as a small girl and saved a train from crashing into the Des Moines River, during a time when a flood had washed out a bridge across it. If you do not know the Kate Shelley story, google it and enjoy. For now here is the bridge with all its character!  Photo and Caption by Bob Kelly

Bremer County

Bremer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was named for Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish traveler, poet, and author. Its county seat is Waverly.

Buchanan County

Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was created in 1837 and was named in honor of Senator James Buchanan, who became the 15th President of the United States.  Its county seat is Independence.

The view is the 1867 Wapsipinicon Mill.  Photo by Lynda Waddington

Buena Vista County

 Buena Vista County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is named for the final victory field of General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War. Its county seat is Storm Lake. Buena Vista County was formed on January 15, 1851 from open land.

Wikiphoto  Courthouse.

Butler County

Butler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was organized in 1854 and named for General William O. Butler.Its county seat is Allison.

Butler County was formed on January 15, 1851 from open land. It was named after Kentucky native William Orlando Butler, a general and hero of the Mexican-American War, who ran as Vice President of the United States in 1848. Until 1854, the county was governed by other counties. Only at this time did it have enough inhabitants to establish its own local government. The first court proceedings were conducted in a small log cabin of a settler. In 1858, the first courthouse was completed in Clarksville. After it was sold shortly thereafter to the local school district, it was used as a schoolhouse from 1863 until 1903.

Clarksville was the first county seat, from 1854 to 1860, after which Butler Center became the seat. Because locals became disenchanted with Butler Center (partially because of its inaccessibility during the winter), Allison was made the county seat on January 10, 1881.

Calhoun County

Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa.   Its county seat is Rockwell City. Calhoun County was formed on January 15, 1851 from open land originally named Fox County. It was renamed in 1853 after the seventh US Vice President secessionist John C. Calhoun. When the tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad were laid through the county in 1870, the county seat was moved from Lake City to Rockwell City. The first train reached Rockwell City on August 7, 1882 and the population count doubled in the same year. The first courthouse, built of wood, burned to the ground in 1884 and the county government moved into a nearby hotel. In 1913, the current courthouse was built.

On July 6, 1893, Pomeroy was struck by a tornado that measured F5 on the Fujita scale. With a damage path 500 yards (460 m) wide and 55 miles (89 km) long, the tornado destroyed about 80% of the homes in Pomeroy. The tornado killed 71 people and injured 200.