Harrison

Formed February 25, 1845 (89^th county)

Harrison County (8,158), Bethany (2,903)

A masonry and concrete Art Deco structure is the 1939 courthouse.  There were 1845, 1857, and 1874 courthouses earlier all in Bethany, the only county seat.  The current courthouse is located on a square at Central, 15^th, Main, and 16^th streets.  Missouri State Highway W is Main Street.  The courthouse features veteran memorial tablets and marble interior walls.  Keene and Simpson and William L. Perkins were the building architects.  Harrison County was formed on February 25, 1845 from Native American Territory as the 89^th county.  It is named for Congressman Albert G. Harrison.  He is also the namesake for the county seat of Cass County.  The county seat is named for the Biblical city. 

Harrison County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge serves Harrison, Grundy, Mercer, and Putnam counties and One County Court Judge and a court clerk serve Harrison County (judicial.) Harrison County is on the northern border with Iowa.  Kansas City, Missouri is southwest and Des Moines, Iowa is north of the county.  The county center is 6.2 miles Northeast of Bethany.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Iowa and Mercer, Grundy, Daviess, Gentry, and Worth counties. 

The area of the county is 725 square miles.  It is 25 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 98 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 11.3 persons per square mile making it 102 out of 115 in the state.  Harrison County has 57.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 55 crosses the county north to south from Iowa to Daviess County.  United States Highway 69 parallels Interstate Highway 55 from Iowa to Daviess County.  United States Highway 136 goes east to west from Mercer County to Gentry County.  The county is an overall rectangle.  Bethany is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Bethany is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 35.6% of the county population.