Ida

Formed December 31, 1853 (93^rd county)

Ida County (7,002), Ida Grove (2,053)

The red brick Victorian structure, built in 1883, is on Morehead, 4^th, Court, and 5^th streets.  United States Highway 59 is four blocks north of the location.  The building was remodeled in 1930 and 1936.  J. P. Bryant provided the original designs.  An Annex was built in 1982.  The facility has a tower and the grounds feature a memorial stone and military gun.  Ida County was established on December 31, 1853 from Cherokee County as the 93^rd county.  It is named for Mount Ida, Greece.  Ida Grove has always been the county seat.  The county seat is named for the county.  Ida County was the birthplace of 1 Iowa Governor, Harold E. Hughes. 

Ida County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Supervisors.  Twenty District Court Judges and Fourteen Magistrates serve Ida, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Lyon, Kossuth, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury counties.  The county is in northwest Iowa directly east of Sioux City, Iowa.  The county center is 5.6 miles North-Northwest of Ida Grove.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Cherokee, Buena Vista, Sac, Crawford, Monona, and Woodbury counties. 

The county has an area of 432 square miles.  It is 85 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 92 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 16.2 persons per square mile making it 84 out of 99 in the state.  Ida County has 70.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 20 crosses east to west in the county from Sac County to Woodbury County.  United States Highway 59 goes north to south from Cherokee County to Crawford County.  The county is a shifted rectangle with the northern part shifted west.  Ida Grove is located in the southeast quarter of the county.  Ida Grove is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 29.3% of the county population.