Doniphan

Formed August 25, 1855 (8^th county)

Doniphan County (7,498), Troy (964), Wathena (1,247)

A classy Romanesque courthouse for Doniphan County is located on a square surrounded by Walnut, Chestnut, Main and Liberty streets.  United States Highway 36 is seven blocks to the north of the site.  Built in 1905, the red brick and stone building was designed by George P. Washburn.  The building features a second story balcony and wooden stairs.  The exterior grounds have a wooden totem pole and a gazebo.  There was a previous courthouse dating from 1868 also in Troy, the only county seat.  Doniphan County is an original county (8^th county) formed on August 25, 1855.  It is named for Mexican War hero Alexander W. Doniphan.  The county seat is named for the ancient Greek city. 

Doniphan County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Doniphan, Brown, Marshall, and Nemaha counties (judicial.) The county is in the northeast corner of the state.  Missouri is directly east of the county.  The county center is 7 miles Northwest of Troy.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Missouri and Atchison and Brown counties and Nebraska. 

The area of the county is 392 square miles.  It is 103 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 50 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 19.1 persons per square mile making it 36 out of 105 in the state.  Doniphan County has 61.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 36 crosses the county east to west from Missouri to Brown County.  The Missouri River is on the county’s east border.  The county resembles the head of a rhinoceros.  Troy is located slightly south of the geographical center.  The largest city is on the eastern border.  Troy is the county seat and Wathena is the largest city.  Troy is 12.9% of the county population while Wathena is 16.6% of the county population.  The county is pronounced DON-I-FAN.  The largest city is pronounced WA-THEE-NA.  This county is in the Saint Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area.