Dickinson County, Iowa

Founding: 1857 (declared in 1851)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: Daniel Dickinson, New York politician
Seat: Spirit Lake (1857–)

Land area: 381 square miles

Population (2020): 17,703

Population (historic): 1,389 (1870); 4,328 (1890); 8,137 (1910); 10,982 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1860–1950; 1970s; 1990–2020

Subdivisions: Ten cities; 12 townships

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,226 (16.3%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 38.6%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 4.2%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 5.2%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,725
Average outbuilding value (1930): $2,335
Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.2 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,043
Average farm size (1920): 179.2 acres
Sources of settlement: Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Germany, and Norway
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Spirit Lake

Namesake: Spirit Lake

Founding: 1856 (platting); 1857 (post office); 1878 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 5,439

Population (historic): 76 (1870); 782 (1890); 1,162 (1910); 1,778 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1856–1900; 1910–1980; 1990–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 340 (11.5%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. Gerome Clark House (1869/1888). 220th Road, east of 260th Road. Milford.
2. House (c. 1875). 13710 240th Road. Spirit Lake. Italianate.

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