Taylor

Formed June 24, 1847 (49^th county)

Taylor County (5,896), Bedford (1,503)

A white clock tower on the red brick and stone courthouse was constructed in 1892 to replace the smaller 1863 facility.  It is in a city square surrounded by Jefferson, Court, Pearl, and Central streets.  Iowa State Highway 148 is one block west of the location.  The facility designer of this Romanesque building is F. M. Ellis.  The grounds feature veteran memorials.  The county was created on June 24, 1847 and named for Mexican War General Zachary Taylor before he became the United States President.  The county was taken from Page County as the 49^th county with Bedford as the only county seat.  The county seat is named for Bedford, England.  Taylor County was the birthplace of 1 Iowa Governor, Bourke B. Hickenlooper.  The county’s overall shape is a rectangle.  Bedford is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Bedford is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 25.5% of the county population. 

Taylor County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Supervisors (legislative.)  Fifty-nine District Court Judges and Twenty-one Magistrates serve Taylor, Adair, Adams, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Guthrie, Jasper, Lucas, Madison, Marion, Polk, Ringgold, Union, Warren, and Wayne counties (judicial.) Taylor County is on the southwest border with Missouri.  Des Moines, Iowa is northeast and Council Bluffs, Iowa is northwest of the county.  The county center is 10.9 miles Northeast of Bedford nearer Sharpsburg.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Adams, Union, and Ringgold counties and Missouri and Page and Montgomery counties. 

The county has an area of 534 square miles.  It is 64 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 96 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 11.0 persons per square mile making it 97 out of 99 in the state.  Taylor County has 65.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.