within its borders the territory of Benton, Tama, Marshall, Story, Boone, Greene, Carroll, Crawford, and Monona counties, together with the southern tier of townships in the counties of Woodbury, Ida, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Hamilton, Hardin, and Grundy, as these counties exist today. (See Map II.) At the time Benton County was established, the Indian titles had been extinguished to only a part of the territory of the present county of that name.

The original Benton was one of the temporary counties several of which were established in Iowa in the early days. Its boundaries were redefined and the county reduced in size by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.19 It was undoubtedly the intention of the framers of this act to give to Benton County its present boundaries, but in attempting to do this an error was made. The boundaries given to the reduced county in section nine of the act read as follows: "beginning at the northwest corner of Linn county, thence west to range (13) thirteen west; thence south on said line to the corner of townships (81) eighty-one and (82) eightytwo of range (13) thirteen and (14) fourteen west; thence east to southwest corner of Linn county; thence north to the place of beginning." According to this description the northern boundary of the new County of Benton was to begin at the northwest corner of Linn County and run "thence west to range (13) thirteen west". This can only mean that the line in question reached to the north and south line which divides ranges twelve and thirteen west. The western boundary line was then described as running from this point south to the corner of townships eighty-one and eighty-two of ranges (13) thirteen and (14) fourteen west". In other words the western boundary line was to run straight south and yet arrive at a point one township

66

19 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.

farther west than its starting point. This was clearly impossible and herein lies the error. The eastern boundary of Tama County was also affected. The line between Benton and Tama remained defective until corrected by an act of the General Assembly of Iowa approved on March 22, 1858.20 By this law the boundary in question was redefined and declared plainly to be the line between ranges twelve and thirteen west of the fifth principal meridian. From this time on the boundaries of Benton County have remained unaltered.

The territory of the present county of Benton formerly belonged to the Sac and Fox Indians, but it was not all acquired from them at the same time. A narrow, triangular strip in the eastern part of the county, probably four or five miles wide at the northern border and tapering to a point near the southern border, was part of the cession of October 21, 1837. The remainder of the county, about eleven-twelfths of its area, represents the cession of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)

Black Hawk.-This county was created by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.21 Located just west of Buchanan County, its boundaries were described in section eleven of the law as follows: "beginning at the northwest corner of Buchanan county, thence west to range fifteen west; thence south to the corner of townships (86) eighty-six and (87) eightyseven, of range (14) fourteen and (15) fifteen west; thence east to the southwest corner of Buchanan county, thence north to the place of beginning". From this description it is seen that the boundaries of Black Hawk County were defined in reference to those of Buchanan. The latter county had been established by the act of December 21, 1837, its 20 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 240.

21 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.

boundaries reaching clear across the State of Iowa and even into South Dakota. (See Map II.) Those boundaries had never been altered, consequently the act which described the boundaries of Black Hawk County as just quoted, was seriously in error. The northwest and southwest corners of Buchanan were not at all where the act assumed them to be. The intention of the framers of the act was, no doubt, to give to these two counties the boundaries usually accredited to them on county maps of Iowa. Surrounding counties of necessity give them this shape. The boundaries of Black Hawk have never been redefined. Left defective by the act establishing them they remain defective today.22 Black Hawk County, as pictured on ordinary maps, was carved from the original County of Buchanan. (See Map II.) Its territory was acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the terms of the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)

Boone.-Boone County was carved from the territory of the original County of Benton (See Map II.) by an act approved on January 13, 1846.23 Its boundaries as defined in this law have never been altered. An attempt to modify them slightly in 1880 by throwing the town of Sheldahl into Story County proved unsuccessful. (For a fuller account of this attempt see Polk and Story counties below.) The territory included within the limits of Boone County was acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)

Bremer.-Created by the act of January 15, 1851,24 the boundaries given to Bremer County at that time have never since been altered. Its territory had for a time been part

22 See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.

23 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.

24 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.

of the original County of Fayette. (See Map II.) The southern part of the county (about half) had been acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.) The northern portion was first ceded by the same tribes on July 15, 1830. It was included within the region called the "Neutral Strip". By a treaty signed on September 15, 1832, all that part of the "Neutral Strip" which lay east of the Red Cedar River was ceded as a reservation to the Winnebagoes. This included most of the northern half of Bremer County. (See Map I.) This same area was ceded back by the Winnebagoes to the United States in the treaty of October 13, 1846.

Buchanan.-The original County of Buchanan was established by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on December 21, 1837.25 Its boundaries were described in section five of the act just mentioned as including "All the country lying west of the county of Delaware and between the line dividing townships eightysix and eighty-seven, and the line dividing townships ninety and ninety-one north, extended to the western boundary of the territory". The boundaries of Delaware had been defined in the preceding section of the act, which placed the western line of that county on the line between ranges six and seven west. The "western boundary of the territory" can refer only to the western limit of the Territory of Wisconsin, the legislature of which passed the act just quoted. The western limit of the Territory of Wisconsin was the Missouri and White Earth rivers. The new County of Buchanan extended therefore from the western line of Delaware County clear across the State of Iowa and even into the State of South Dakota. (See Map II.) As thus constituted Buchanan County included all of the territory of 25 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.

the present counties of Buchanan and Black Hawk; all except the southern tier of townships in the counties of Grundy, Hardin, Hamilton, Webster, Calhoun, Sac, Ida and Woodbury, together with the southern tier of townships in each of the counties of Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Wright, Franklin, and Butler. The original County of Buchanan was not only one of the largest ever established, either wholly or partially, within the limits of Iowa, but it was also peculiar in its character. In the formation of counties in Iowa the rule has nearly always been to include only those territories to which the Indian title had already been extinguished. The law of 1837 made exceptions to this rule in establishing the counties of Fayette, Benton, Keokuk, and Buchanan.26 In the case of the latter county the Indian title had been extinguished, at the time of its formation, only from a relatively small part of its territory.

As first established, Buchanan may be called one of the temporary counties of Iowa. It was reduced in size, indirectly and imperfectly, by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.27 This act created nine new counties and altered the boundaries of three old ones, of which Buchanan County was one. Among the new counties named in the act was Black Hawk, in defining the boundaries of which a serious error was made.28 The law assumed that the western boundary of Buchanan County was the line dividing ranges ten and eleven west and then proceeded to define the boundaries of Black Hawk County in terms of those of Buchanan, the intention being to locate the former immediately west of the latter. In point of fact, however, the original boundaries

26 See Maps III and IV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.

27 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.