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Pottawattamie County, Iowa; A Collection of Historical Sketches and Family Histories by Pottawattamie County History Book Committee, 1978
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
How was the county named? Because of a band of Indians, bearing the name Pottawattamie, resided in this territory for a short time the county bears their name. What does the name mean? "Makers of Fire" some remember.
By a treaty made at Chicago on September 27, 1833, rebel bands of Pottawattamie, Chippewa and Ottawa Indians in Illinois and Indiana surrendered their occupancy of land in those states and consented to removal west of the
Mississippi River -- actually southwestern Iowa.
During the Indian's residency in Iowa they did not make much progress towards civilization, even though a Catholic priest tried to bring the learning and religion of the whites to the Indians. Their connection with the state has been
preserved in the name of the county.
The Pottawattamies were Algonquins, liked to trade---they were the traders par-excellence -- their appearance was princely, their manners excellent, they drove a bargain with inimitable grace. They, however, lent distinction to Iowa for but a very short time. Some may be found in
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