Wright

Formed December 15, 1853 (91^st county)

Wright County (13,229), Clarion (2,850), Eagle Grove (3,583)                

A large red brick tower with working clock dominates the Italianate courthouse erected in 1892.  It’s on a city square is surrounded by Main, Central, 1^st Avenue, and 1^st Street.  Iowa State Highway 3 is Central Street in the town.  W. B. Parson & Son are the brick and stone building architects.  The grounds feature veteran memorials.  There were courthouses built in 1851 and 1866 previously.  Liberty was the county seat until 1866 when Clarion took over.  Wright County was established on December 15, 1853 from parts of Webster and Kossuth counties as the 91^st county.  It is dual named for New York Governor Silas Wright and Indiana Governor Joseph Wright.  The county seat is named for Clarion, Pennsylvania.  Wright County was the birthplace of 1 Iowa Governor, Robert D. Blue. 

Wright County government consists of a sheriff, a recorder, an attorney, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 3 Supervisors (legislative.)  Thirty-one District Court Judges and Thirty-three Magistrates serve Wright, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Mitchell, Pocahontas, Sac, Story, Webster, Winnebago, and Worth counties (judicial.) Wright County is situated in north central Iowa.  Mason City, Iowa is northeast and Des Moines, Iowa is south of the county.  The county center is in Clarion .6 miles West of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hancock, Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hardin, Hamilton, Webster, Humboldt, and Kossuth counties. 

The county has an area of 583 square miles.  It is 30 of 99 in the state.  It ranks 59 out of 99 in population in the state.  It has a density of 22.73 persons per square mile making it 65 out of 99 in the state.  Wright County has 77.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 clips the southeast corner of the county from Franklin County, east, to Hamilton County, south.  United States Highway 69 travels north to south from Hancock County to Hamilton County.  The county is a rectangle.  Clarion is located at the center of the county.  Eagle Grove is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Clarion is the county seat and Eagle Grove is the largest city.  Clarion is 21.5% of the county population while Eagle Grove is 27.1% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced KLARE-EE-ON.