Osceola County, Iowa

 

Founding: 1872 (declared in 1851)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: Osceola, Seminole chief
Seat: Sibley (1872–)

Land area: 399 square miles

Population (2020): 6,192

Population (historic): 2,219 (1880); 8,725 (1900); 10,182 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1871–1920; 1930s

Subdivisions: Five cities; 12 townships

National Register listings: One

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,061 (35.8%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 50.3%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 1.6%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 1.1%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,998
Average outbuilding value (1930): $3,181
Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.6 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,265
Average farm size (1920): 182.6 acres
Sources of settlement: Iowa, Germany, Illinois, and Wisconsin
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Sibley

Namesake: Henry Sibley, Minnesota governor

Founding: 1872 (platting); 1872 (post office); 1875 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 2,860

Population (historic): 301 (1880); 1,289 (1900); 1,870 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1872–1960; 1970s; 2000–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 281 (24.2%)
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