Pocahontas

Formed December 15, 1857 (97^th county)

Pocahontas County (7,077), Pocahontas (1,871)                

A masonry Classical Greco-Roman building in Pocahontas was built in 1921 in a city square.  Main and 4^th streets meet at the square’s intersection.  Iowa State Highway 3 is four blocks to the south.  Proudfoot, Bird, and Rawson are the building designers.  The grounds feature veteran memorials.  There was an 1875 courthouse earlier since the December 15, 1857 organization.  The county was taken from parts of Greene and Humboldt counties as the 97^th county.  Old Rolfe was the county seat until 1875 when Pocahontas became the county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the Native American princess. 

Pocahontas County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Thirty-one District Court Judges and Thirty-three Magistrates serve Pocahontas, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Mitchell, Sac, Story, Webster, Winnebago, Worth, and Wright counties.  Pocahontas County is in northwest Iowa.  Sioux City, Iowa is west and Des Moines, Iowa is southeast of the county.  The county center is 1.4 miles Northwest of Pocahontas.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Palo Alto, Kossuth, Humboldt, Webster, Calhoun, Sac, Buena Vista, and Clay counties. 

The county has an area of 578 square miles.  It is 34 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 91 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 12.2 persons per square mile making it 96 out of 99 in the state.  Pocahontas County has 69.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  The county is a square.  The City of Pocahontas is at or near the center of the county.  Pocahontas is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 26.4% of the county population.