Tama - Welcome to U.S. County Courthouses!

Formed February 17, 1847 (44^th county)

Tama County (17,130), Toledo (2,373), Tama (3,127)

The tall working clock tower on the red brick and stone Romanesque courthouse was built in 1866. It is located on a square at State, Main, High, and Broadway streets. United States Highway 63 passes two blocks to the west of the courthouse. W. R. Parsons and Son are the architects. An Administrative Center augments the courthouse across the street. The grounds feature veteran memorials and benches. Tama County was formed on February 17, 1847 from parts of Benton and Boone counties as the 44^th county with Toledo as the only county seat. It is named for a Native American chief. The county seat is named for Toledo, Ohio.

The county has an area of 721 square miles. It is 9 of 99 in the state. It ranks 41 out of 99 in population in the state. It has a density of 23.8 persons per square mile making it 59 out of 99 in the state. Tama County has 62.1% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 30 crosses the county east to west from Benton County to Marshall County. United States Highway 63 goes north to south from Black Hawk County to Poweshiek County. The county is a rectangle. Toledo is in the southwest quarter of the county. Tama is located immediately south of Toledo. Toledo is the county seat and Tama is the largest city. Toledo is 13.9% of the county population while Tama is 18.3% of the county population. Des Moines, Iowa is southwest and Cedar Rapids, Iowa is east of the county.

Tama County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive). It has 3 Supervisors (legislative.) Twenty-six District Court Judges and Seventeen Magistrates serve Tama, Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, and Linn counties (judicial.) The county is in central Iowa. The county center is 11.6 miles North-Northeast of Toledo nearer Garwin. The county is surrounded clockwise by Black Hawk, Benton, Iowa, Poweshiek, Jasper, Marshall, and Grundy counties. The county and largest city are pronounced TAM-A. The county seat is pronounced TOE-LEE-DOE.