Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1910-05-05

Counties Of Iowa.flow Named !
We often hear III al, sion
asked: How did the counli.siil
Iowa get their names% When
the counties were first orrani.. !
zed, it was done by act Of tho
Legislature, and approved by
the Governor, who appointed 4
committee, who defined the
boundries and located the "a.
Seat Of said county and gave it,
a name. Harrison county VAS
so organized, and on the 18th
day of January 1853, a Com
mission of three men, appointed
by the Governor, as follows:
Abraham Fletcher, of Fremont.
Chares Wolcott, Of Mills Co, 8
and A. D. Jones, of Pottawatta
mic county, proceeded to locate
the county seat at Magnolia.
This being a western county.
extending to the Missouri river
on the west, and embracing q
large body of bottom land, the
richest in the world, EXTENDING
from Missouri Valley to that
river, a distance some IL miles,
SURPRISING in richness the great
valley of the Nile; but what we
started out to speak of was the
names of the Counties of the
State. 1t will be noticed at a
glance that a large number Of
the counties were named forI
the Presidents, others for curl
distinguished statesmen, Cen
erals, and others after Indian
tribes and Chiefs, and a few at.
ter local citizens.
For the Presidents
Washington, Adams. Jefferor,
Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Van
Buren,, Harrison, Polk, Taylor,
Buchanan.
Indians and Tribes.
Appanoos, Black Hawk. Chick.
asaw, Delaware, Iowa, Keokuk.
Monona, Osceola, Pccahontis.
Sac, Powesheik, Sioux, Whine.
bago, Pottawattamie, Palo
Alto, Cherokee, Wapalo, and to
our distinguished men we have
named many Counties, Wis
Benton, Boone, Butler, Calhoun,
Cass, Clark, Henry, Clay, Lee,
Scott, Wayne, Webster, Story,
Marion, Davis, johnson, Deca1
ture, Dallis, Franklin, Fremont
Hamilton, Lucas, Shelby, Gen.
Green, and perhaps others, but
this accounts for about half of
the names of the SO counties in
the State of Iowa.
Perhaps by a little examina-
tion into the early history of
the State in the naming of the
counties we might be able to]
discover for just who the differ1
ent counties were named, bud
our object was to give the namel
for whom our county was nam.
ed, and find it was IN honor Of
Gen. w. H. Harrison, of Ohio,
who was elected President in|
|l84O.
And now leaving the ques-
ton of the naming the counties
we come to that other question
as to the meaning of the name
of the State, and how given?
1t is said by some writer that
the name means Beautiful"
and was given by an In dian,
who looking upon Iowa for the
first time, and seeing the land,
waving in grass exclaimed
"Iowa," which in English means
beautiful. Whether this is au-
thentic or not we cannot say,
but it is certainly a beautiful
land, as fair a land as has ev-
er been kissed by the sun Of
day. Beautiful in river and
creek. grove and plain, in grass
and flower, hill and dale, and
like the Indian who first looked
upon its broad expanse, we can
but repeat: "Iowa" Beautiful
Iowa, the home Of noble men.
and fair women, the land bless
ed of God and loved by her cit
liens, growing in favor, the
land of the free and the home
of the brave. D. M. II.
A transient became polluted
Sunday by too much indulgence
| in linnif1 rnfrnshnont Ho 70.