Worth

Formed January 15, 1853 (85^th county)

Worth County (7,444), Northwood (2,072)                

The stone and red brick Romanesque courthouse was built in 1893.  It is on a square at Central Avenue, 11^th Street, 1^st Avenue, and 10^th Street.  United States Highway 65 passes in front of the courthouse.  H. R. P. Hamilton provided the building designs.  The courthouse was remodeled and enlarged in 1938.  The grounds feature a canon and memorial walls.  Wooden stairs are inside.  An annex supplements the courthouse.  There was also an 1880 courthouse.  Worth County was organized on January 15, 1853 from Mitchell County as the 85^th county with Northwood as the only county seat.  It is named for Mexican War General William Worth.  The county seat’s name is presumably a geographical term.  Worth County was the birthplace of 1 Iowa Governor, Leo Elthon. 

Worth County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Supervisors.  Thirty-one District Court Judges and Thirty-three Magistrates serve Worth, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Sac, Story, Webster, Winnebago, and Wright counties.  The county is located on the northern border with Minnesota.  Mason City, Iowa is directly south of the county.  The county center is 11.8 miles Southwest of Northwood nearer Joice.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Minnesota and Mitchell, Cerro Gordo, Hancock, and Winnebago counties. 

The county has an area of 400 square miles.  It is 96 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 89 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 18.6 persons per square mile making it 76 out of 99 in the state.  Worth County has 60.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 goes north to south in the county from Minnesota to Cerro Gordo County.  United States Highway 65 parallels Interstate Highway 35 from Minnesota to Cerro Gordo County.  The county is a rectangle.  Northwood is in the northern quarter of the county.  Northwood is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 27.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Northwood