Original Pottawattamie County
Original Extent of Pottawattamie Co.
bigpigeon.us webpage History > SW Iowa History > Political Organization, updated by RAC 18 Oct 2023.  
​Incomplete.
In my website I view the state of Iowa as divided into six portions (Southwest, Northwest, South Central, North Central, Southeast, and Northeast).  The 19 counties in Southwest Iowa  are shown on the following map.
I view the Southwest Iowa counties as arranged in horizontal tiers. Tier 1 is along the Missouri border. Tier numbers increase as one moves northward.
  • Tier 1 - Fremont, Page, Taylor, Ringgold
  • Tier 2 - Mills, Montgomery, Adams, Union
  • Tier 3 - Pottawattamie, Cass, Adair
  • Tier 4 - Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, Guthrie
  • ​Tier 5 - Monona, Crawford, Carroll, Greene
Southwest Iowa
Southwest Iowa - 19 Counties
From 1837 to 1846, most of Southwest Iowa was part of the Potawatomi Reserve, temporarily occupied by about 2,000 Potawatomi, Chippewa and Ottawa. Indians who had been relocated to Iowa from the west shore of Lake Michigan. In 1846 they were again encouraged to relocate, to a reservation in northeastern Kansas. Also in 1846 Mormons, forced to abandon the Nauvoo area in Illinois, arrived by the thousands in Southwest Iowa on the first leg of their journey to Utah.
  • A very large Pottawattamie County was established in 1847, along with the four Southwest Iowa tier 1 counties, using land formerly in the Potawatomi Reserve. 
  • ​The remaining 14 Southwest Iowa counties were established in 1851, most using all or a portion of the 1847 Pottawattamie County.

Tier & County

Established

Organized

Source of Land

3 - Pottawattamie

24 Feb 1847

21 Sep 1849

Potawatomi land

1 - Fremont

24 Feb 1847

10 Sep 1849

Potawatomi land

1 - Page

24 Feb 1847

22 Mar 1852

Potawatomi land

1 - Taylor

24 Feb 1847

26 Feb 1851

Potawatomi land

1 - Ringgold

24 Feb 1847

1 Mar 1855

Potawatomi land

2 - Mills

15 Jan 1851

18 Aug 1851

Pottawattamie

2 - Montgomery

15 Jan 1851

15 Aug 1853

Pottawattamie

2 - Adams

15 Jan 1851

7 Mar 1853

Pottawattamie

2 - Union

15 Jan 1851

1 Mar 1853

Pott. + unorg.

3 - Cass

15 Jan 1851

7 Mar 1853

Pottawattamie

3 - Adair

15 Jan 1851

6 May 1854

Pott. + unorg.

4 - Harrison

15 Jan 1851

7 Mar 1853

Pottawattamie

4 - Shelby

15 Jan 1851

7 Mar 1853

Pottawattamie

4 - Audubon

15 Jan 1851

9 Jul 1855

Pott. + unorg.

4 - Guthrie

15 Jan 1851

16 Oct 1851

unorganized

5 - Monona

15 Jan 1851

3 Apr 1854

unorg. (sic)

5 - Crawford

15 Jan 1851

3 Sep 1855

Pott. + unorg.

5 - Carroll

15 Jan 1851

17 Aug 1855

Pott. + unorg.

5 - Greene

15 Jan 1851

25 Aug 1854

unorganized

 
Counties were subdivisions of the state, and county governments functioned under state laws and state supervision.
Iowa has always been an agricultural state. Originally, land ownership was acquired by the Federal government via treaties with American Indian tribes. Ownership was transferred to private individuals by the following mechanism:
Land was surveyed into 160-acre parcels. In Southwest Iowa, surveying began in the early 1850s and was complete by 1855.
The private sector then acquired the land through a government land office. Acquisition could be by one of several modes:
  • Purchase for $1.25 per acre in a land office or for $1.25 or more at a land office auction.
  • Exchange for a warrant previously issued to a veteran, often a Mexican War veteran.
  • Land grants to selected railroads.
Much land was acquired by speculators and not placed into production until years later.