Sac

Formed December 15, 1851 (75^th county)

Sac County (9,817), Sac City (2,059)

The red brick and stone courthouse in Sac City was built in 1889 at Northwest State and Main streets.  Main Street is United States Highway 20 in the town.  J. M. Russell designed this Romanesque courthouse.  The building was renovated in 1900 and enlarged in 1977.  The grounds feature veteran memorials and military guns and a freedom stone are across the street.  The county was established on December 15, 1851 from Greene County and the 75^th county with Sac City as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the Native American tribe. 

Sac County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Supervisors (legislative.)  Thirty-one District Court Judges and Thirty-three Magistrates serve Sac, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Story, Webster, Winnebago, Worth, and Wright counties (judicial.) The county is in northwest Iowa.  Sioux City, Iowa is west and Des Moines, Iowa is southeast of the county.  The county center is 12.4 miles Southwest of Sac City nearer Lake View.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Ida, and Cherokee counties. 

The county has an area of 576 square miles.  It is 37 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 76 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 17.0 persons per square mile making it 83 out of 99 in the state.  Sac County has 69.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 20 crosses the county east to west from Calhoun County to Ida County.  United States Highway 71 goes north to south from Buena Vista County to Carroll County.  The county is a rectangle with the northern part shifted to the northwest.  Sac City is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  Sac City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 21.0% of the county population.