Henry

Formed December 7, 1836 (3^rd county)

Henry County (20,488), Mount Pleasant (9,270)                

A Classical Revival masonry courthouse was built in 1912.  It sits at the corner of Main and Washington streets.  Washington Street is United States Highway 34 Business.  J. W. Royer is the building designer.  The grounds feature memorial walls and a Statue of Liberty replica.  The facility sits on a hill.  Two courthouses preceded the current one in 1839 and 1870 both in Mount Pleasant, the only county seat.  The county was established on December 7, 1836 from Native American Territory as the 3^rd county.  It is named for Wisconsin Territorial Governor Henry Dodge (Iowa was created from this territory).  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Webster County.  The name of the county seat is presumably a descriptive term. 

Henry County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Supervisors.  Fifteen District Court Judges and Thirteen Magistrates serve Henry, Appanoose, Davis, Des Moines, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Mahaska, Monroe, Poweshiek, Van Buren, Wapello, and Washington counties.  Henry County is in the southeast part of the state.  Davenport, Iowa is northeast and Des Moines, Iowa is northwest of the county.  The county center is 5.8 miles Northwest of Mount Pleasant nearer Trenton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Washington, Louisa, Des Moines, Lee, Van Buren, and Jefferson counties. 

The county has an area of 434 square miles.  It is 82 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 33 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 47.2 persons per square mile making it 23 out of 99 in the state.  Henry County has 69.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 34 crosses east to west in the county from Des Moines County to Jefferson County.  United States Highway 218 goes north to south from Washington County to Lee County.  The county is a rectangle.  Mount Pleasant is in the southern half of the county.  Mount Pleasant is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 45.3% of the county population.