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Howard County
IAGenWeb website is open for adoption.
It is with a sad heart that Bill
Waters is no longer with us. Bill will be missed by so
many! He gave so much to Howard and Winneshiek counties,
IAGenWeb projects. His obituary is on the IAGenWeb
Memorial Page. Welcome To Howard County IAGenWeb. We are an all volunteer group with the sole purpose of providing free genealogical data to our fellow researchers. We are happy to serve you. If you would like to help us add more information to this site please contact Conni, the Howard County Temporary Coordinator. Your contributions will help our fellow Howard County researchers.
About Howard County
In 1867 the citizens of Shook's Grove (now called Cresco) offered the county a new building. It was constructed by the Howard County Court House Association. In July 1867 the Board of Supervisors moved into this building but exceeded its authority when it did this, so the decision went to an election. The voters favored keeping the courthouse at Pike's Peak, but county business was still conducted at Cresco.  In 1868 the treasurer's office was broken into, and $13,000 in money and securities was stolen. The person responsible was never apprehended. This arrangement continued until the courthouse at Cresco burned down on December 1, 1876. After the fire the citizens of Cresco agreed to extend the city limits to include Pike's Peak. With this done, the Board of Supervisors then relocated the courthouse to the town square. It was here where Howard County built its present courthouse. This Italianate-Classic style building, constructed of light red brick, was completed in January 1880. The courthouse association paid $5,707.90, and the county paid $1,040 for the building.  Cresco downtown with the courthouse in the center, circa 1908 panoramic photo from the Library of Congress files. In 1964 voters approved a $60,000 bond issue to improve the courthouse. Two additions provided for more storage in the vault and more office space. The main structure is still much as it was when completed in 1880. (Taken from History of County Governments in Iowa, published in 1992 by the Iowa State Association of Counties, Des Moines, Iowa) Surrounding Counties
Iowa State countiesClick this link to view a map of the State of Iowa with all counties shown with quick links to each county IAGenWeb Project website. Special Thanks!A special thanks to all who have submitted and transcribed information for the Howard County, Iowa Website: Shirley Decker, Jan Ehresmann, Marilyn Erion, Matthew Friend, Kay Gavin, Leonard Granger, Melba Jenkins, Paul Maruska, Barbara Nagy, John Oberreuter, Mike Peterson, Janice Sowers, Joel Swink, Paul Vasold, Randy Wurzer, and Roseanna Zehner. Howard County Iowa Archives is a digital library of the USGenWeb Archives Projects. |
Howard County, formally organized by Judge James Lyon of Chickasaw County in July 17, 1855, is named in honor of General Tilghman Ashurst Howard. He held various offices in Tennessee and Indiana and was a long time friend of Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston.