Johnson

Formed December 21, 1837 (16^th county)

Johnson County (152,861), Iowa City (74,823)

The clock tower on the stone Richardsonian Romanesque Revival building stands out.  It was built in 1899 and sits at Court, Capital, Harrison, and Clinton streets.  Iowa State Highway 1 is two blocks north of the site.  Rush, Bowman & Company are the architects of this structure with corner turrets.  There was an 1856 facility also in Iowa City although Napoleon was the county seat until 1842 when Iowa City took that role.  The county was created on December 21, 1837 from parts of Des Moines County and Native American Territory as the 16^th county.  It is named for United States Vice President Richard M. Johnson.  The county seat is named for the Iowa Territory for which it was the capital. 

Johnson County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 5 Supervisors (legislative.)  Twenty-six District Court Judges and Seventeen Magistrates serve Johnson, Benton, Iowa, Jones, Linn, and Tama counties (judicial.) Johnson County is in eastern Iowa directly south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The county center is in Iowa City 2.8 miles Northwest of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise Linn, Cedar, Muscatine, Louisa, Washington, Iowa, and Benton counties. 

The county has an area of 614 square miles.  It is 20 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 249.0 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 99 in the state.  Johnson County has 85.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 80 goes east to west in the county from Cedar County to Iowa County.  Interstate Highway 380 comes in from the north, Linn County, and terminates.  United States Highway 6 parallels Interstate Highway 80 from Muscatine County to Iowa County.  United States Highway 218 is joined with Interstate Highway 380 in from Linn County splits and continues south into Washington County.  The county resembles a fat number 9.  Iowa City is in the eastern half of the county.  Iowa City is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 49.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area.