Cass

Formed January 15, 1851 (57^th county)

Cass County (13,132), Atlantic (6,793)                

A light tan brick Art Deco courthouse was constructed in 1934 in Atlantic.  It sits on a square at 7^th, Poplar, 8^th, and Chestnut streets.  7^th Street is United States Highway 6 in the town.  Dougher, Rich & Woodburn were the courthouse architects.  There was a classic 1888 courthouse also in Atlantic.  The county was created on January 15, 1851.  Indiantown (1853), Lewis (1856) and Atlantic (1869) had earlier courthouses.  The county was formed from Pottawattamie County as the 57^th county.  Michigan Senator and Presidential candidate Lewis Cass is the county’s namesake.  The county seat’s name was a coin flip between Pacific and Atlantic since the town is assumed to be exactly between the two oceans. 

Cass County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Eleven District Court Judges and Sixteen Magistrates serve Cass, Audubon, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state.  Council Bluffs, Iowa is west and Des Moines, Iowa is east of the county.  The county center is 5 miles Southeast of Atlantic.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Audubon, Adair, Adams, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties. 

The county has an area of 564 square miles.  It is 58 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 58 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 23.3 persons per square mile making it 61 out of 99 in the state.  Cass County has 75.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 80 crosses the extreme north of the county east to west from Adair County to Pottawattamie County.  United States Highway 6 enters from the east joined with Interstate Highway 80, splits and travels west into Pottawattamie County.  United States Highway 71 travels north to south from Audubon County to Montgomery County.  The county is a square with Atlantic located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Atlantic is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 51.7% of the county population.