Allamakee

Formed February 20, 1847 (45^th county)

Allamakee County (14,061), Waukon (3,826)

A tan brick and masonry Art Deco facility was built in 1939 to replace an 1861 building.  The building is at 1^st Avenue and Allamakee Street.  Allamakee Street is Iowa State Highway 9 in the town.  Charles Altfillisch is the courthouse architect.  The grounds feature a memorial and a memorial wall.  The county was formed on February 20, 1847 from Clayton County as the 45^th county.  Rossville (1847), Columbus (1851), Waukon (1853), Lansing (1862), and Waukon (1867) have all served as the county seat.  The county is named for the Native American word for “thunder”.  Waukon is named for a Native American chief.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Winneshiek County. 

Allamakee County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Supervisors.  Twenty-seven District Court Judges and Sixteen Magistrates serve Allamakee, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Grundy, Howard, and Winneshiek counties.  The county is in the northeast corner of Iowa bordering both Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The Mississippi River is its eastern border.  The county center is 6.5 miles East of Waukon.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Minnesota and Wisconsin and Clayton, Winneshiek, and Fayette counties. 

The county has an area of 640 square miles.  It is 18 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 57 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 22.0 persons per square mile making it 67 out of 99 in the state.  Allamakee County has 55.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 52 cuts the southwest corner of the county from Winneshiek County, west, to Clayton County, south.  The county looks like a square bowl of ice cream tipped to the east.  Waukon is in the western quarter of the county.  Waukon is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 27.2% of the county population.  The county is pronounced AL-A-MA-KEE.  The county seat is pronounced WA-KON.