Winneshiek County, Iowa

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Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of 2000, the population was 21,310. Its county seat is Decorah.^[1]

• 1 History
• 2 Government and elected officials
• 3 Geography
  • 3.1 Major highways
  • 3.2 Adjacent counties
• 4 Demographics
• 5 Localities
  • 5.1 Cities
  • 5.2 Townships
  • 5.3 Other communities
• 6 References
• 7 External links

History

A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history from Czech, Slovak, English, Irish, German, Swiss, and Norwegian immigrants that have settled within its boundaries.

The county was originally settled in 1848 in present day Bloomfield Township (near Castalia, Iowa) and in Washington Township (near Fort Atkinson, Iowa). It was organized in 1847, and named after a chief of the Winnebago tribe.

In 1980, Winneshiek County reported a population of 21,842. Like much of Iowa during the 1980s it witnessed a population loss, plummeting to 20,847 according to the 1990 United States Census. However during the 1990s the county experienced some mild growth and was able to rise above the 21,000 mark once again.

Government and elected officials

Like all Iowa counties, Winneshiek is governed by an elected partisan Board of Supervisors. Winneshiek County's Board of Supervisors has five members elected by single-member districts of equal population. Other elected officials are the county attorney, auditor, sheriff and treasurer. The offices for the supervisors and county officers are located in the County Courthouse at the county seat.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 690 square miles (1,787 km²), of which 690 square miles (1,786 km²) is land and 0 square miles (1 km²) (0.04%) is water.

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