Bancroft County, Iowa Explained

Subdivision:County
Nation:Iowa
Conventional Long Name:Bancroft County
Image Map Caption:Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Year Start:1851
Year End:1857
Membership Title1:Country
Membership1: United States
Membership Title2:State
P1:Fayette County, IowaFayette County
S1:Kossuth County, IowaKossuth County
Today: United States

Bancroft County, Iowa, was a county located in what today is the northern portion of Kossuth County. The county was established in 1851 by the Iowa General Assembly, but then abolished six years later. The area was joined to Kossuth County, leading to it being roughly twice the size of adjacent counties.[1] The reason that it became a part of Kossuth County was because the area was wetland, consequently making it unsuitable for farming. Now, only a small amount of the wetlands remain, mostly at the Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge. The remainder of the land is arable by modern farming standards.[2]

The county was named for historian and statesman George Bancroft (1800–1891).[1]

There never was a county seat established or the organization of a county government.[1]

Background

On May 13, 1870, Crocker County was formed out of the same area as Bancroft County, the 12 northern townships of Kossuth. The county seat of Crocker was Greenwood Center.

Many southern Kossuth settlers were unhappy because they did not want the county to be divided, hoping to have the honor of being the largest county.

However, it later merged back into Kossuth County when it was discovered that Crocker was unconstitutional as it was under 432 square miles of territory, the minimum according to the Iowa Constitution. [3]

Attempts of re-establishment

See main article: Larrabee County, Iowa. On February 22nd, 1913, legislation was introduced again to create a new county in the northern area of Kossuth. The proposed region would be called Larrabee County named after governor William Larrabee.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bancroft County, Iowa (extinct). Past 2 Present. May 20, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727164212/http://www.past2present.org/own/counties/Bancroft.htm. July 27, 2011. dead.
  2. News: What Ever Happened to Iowa's 100th County? . Riley . Roger . November 24, 2015 . January 11, 2020.
  3. https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/TB/1039404.pdf