History of Slaughter County, Iowa Excerpts from the "The History of Iowa", by Benjamin F. Gue. Copyright 1903 Transcribed by Sue Soden . Copyright (c) 1998 by Sue Soden. ************************************************************************ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ************************************************************************ SLAUGHTER COUNTY, IOWA 1838 created 1839 renamed Washington County PARENT COUNTY: Wisconsin Territory Slaughter County was created in January, 1838, and embraced a portion of the territory now included in the counties of Louisa, Muscatine and Henry. It was named for William B. Slaughter, Secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin. The county-seat was located at Astoria where the first courts were held in 1837 by Judges Irwin and Williams. the citizens of the county were dissatisfied with the name which had been secured through the manipulations of the obscure official whose name it bore and, upon petition the Legislature relieved them by changing the boundaries of the county and naming it Washington.