Cedar

Formed December 21, 1837 (10^th county)

Cedar County (18,497), Tipton (3,149)

The light tan brick and concrete Modern building on a square at Cedar, 4^th, Meridian, and 5^th streets was built in 1965 replacing the 1859 courthouse.  Iowa State Highway 38 is Cedar Street in Tipton.  Soenke & Wayland are the courthouse architects.  The grounds feature a gazebo.  The county was established on December 21, 1837 from parts of Dubuque County as the 10^th county.  Rochester was the first county seat with Tipton assuming that role in 1841.  The county’s name comes from the Red Cedar River.  The county is named for General George Tipton. 

Cedar County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Seventeen District Court Judges and Fifteen Magistrates serve Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine, and Scott counties.  The county is in eastern Iowa between Cedar Rapids, Iowa, northwest, and Davenport, Iowa, southeast.  The county center is in Tipton .5 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jones, Clinton, Scott, Muscatine, Johnson, and Linn counties. 

The county has an area of 580 square miles.  It is 31 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 38 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 31.9 persons per square mile making it 37 out of 99 in the state.  Cedar County has 59.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 80 crosses the south part of the county east to west from Scott County to Johnson County.  United States Highway 6 enters from the east joined with Interstate Highway 80, splits and goes south into Muscatine County.  United States Highway 30 goes east to west in the north part of the county from Clinton County to Linn County.  Herbert Hoover, the 30^th President, was born and is buried in this county.  The county is a square.  Tipton is in the center of the county.  Tipton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 17.0% of the county population.