Larrabee County, Iowa

Historic proposed county

43°14′N 94°15′W﻿ / ﻿43.23°N 94.25°W﻿ / 43.23; -94.25

Map of Iowa highlighting Kossuth County. (Note its size.)

Larrabee County was a proposed county in the northern part of Kossuth County, Iowa in February 1913. It was named after governor William Larrabee. In November 1914, the Iowans of Kossuth County voted against the creation of Larrabee County. It was preceded by Crocker County until it was disestablished being illegal. A vote was held in Kossuth County in order to see if the county would be established or not. It failed and Kossuth County remained the largest county in Iowa.

## Background[edit]

Map of Iowa highlighting the defunct Bancroft county.

When Iowa became a state in 1846, it had 48 counties. On January 15, 1851, the third Iowa General Assembly added 52 more counties, making Iowa officially a state of 100 counties.[1] In 1855, Bancroft County was eliminated because it was not suitable for settling due to its marshes and wetlands.[1] Bancroft County's land was merged with Kossuth County, making Kossuth the largest County in Iowa, and therefore Iowa was now a state of 99 counties.[2][3]

On May 13, 1870, after post-Civil War migration to the area, Bancroft County was re-established with the name Crocker County.[4] It lasted from 1870 to 1871, being deemed illegal and unconstitutional.[5] The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in the case L.K. Garfield vs R.I. Brayton that Crocker County was a violation of the Iowa constitution, which declares in Article 11 that no new county shall be created which contains less than 432 square miles.[4]

## Proposal[edit]

Portrait of William Larrabee, who the county was to be named after.

On 22 February 1913, Larrabee County was proposed by James McHose, an Iowa congressman from Boone, Iowa.[1] The name Larrabee would honor new governor William Larrabee.[6] The proposal would divide Kossuth County, making the northern part Larrabee County.[1] If Larrabee County were to be created, it would consist of the north one third of Township 97, all of townships 98, 99 and 100 north, of ranges 27, 28, 29 and 30 west of the fifth principal meridian in the state of Iowa.[7] However, the residents of northern Kossuth County sent a delegation to Des Moines to express that they did not want Larrabee County to exist.[1]

In November 1914, an election was held in Kossuth County to determine whether Larrabee County should be established.[1] The proposal received just 920 votes compared to the opposition's 3599 votes; therefore, Larrabee County was not established which meant Iowa remained a state of 99 counties,[1] and Kossuth County remained the largest county in Iowa.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Fannon-Langton 2019, p. 6.
2. ^ Brown 2023.
3. ^ Riley 2015.
4. ^ a b c Schiek 2019, p. 4.
5. ^ Past 2 Present (2004). "Crocker County, Iowa (extinct)". www.past2present.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2024-05-13.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. ^ The Register 1913, p. 1.
7. ^ Allen 1913, p. 353.

### Works cited[edit]

* Fannon-Langton, Dianne (2019-04-21). "What happened to Iowa's 100th county?". The Gazette. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
* Brown, Abby (2023-04-25). "Development of Iowa's 99 Counties". Iowa PBS. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
* Riley, Roger (2015-11-24). "What Ever Happened to Iowa's 100th County?". Retrieved 2024-04-05.
* Allen, W.S. (1913-04-17). "LAWS OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY" (PDF). Iowa Legislature. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
* The Register (1913-03-20). "Bill to Create Larrabee County Indorsed by House Committee". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
* Schiek, Richard O. (2019-03-06). "Pieces of Iowa's Past - The 100th Iowa County" (PDF). Iowa Legislature. LSA. Retrieved 2024-04-05.