HISTORY:  Emmet County, Iowa
From the A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 
1875

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EMMET COUNTY.

	This county, which was named after the immortal Irish patriot, Emmet, 
is in the northern tier, the fourth from the western boundary of the state, and is 
twenty-four miles east and west by seventeen north and south, and contains four 
hundred and eight square miles.
	The Des Moines River enters the county near the northwestern corner, 
and flows across it in a southeasterly course, while the east fork of the same 
river, having its source in Lake Okamanpadu on the northern border, flows also 
in a southeasterly course across the northeast corner of the county. Both streams 
have several tributaries that drain a considerable portion of the county. 
Numerous small lakes of beautifully clear water are scattered over the county, 
among which are the Iowa in the northeast corner, the Tuttle five or six miles 
west of it, while near the center of the county is Swan Lake, a very irregular 
body of water several miles in length. In the western part of the county are 
Crane, Grass, Elmer, Eagle, Cheever's, Ryan, High, Clear, and Twelve Mile 
Lakes. Many of these have groves of timber on their borders, making this one of 
the best timbered counties in Northwestern Iowa, and all are supplied with fish. 
The valley of the Des Moines which passes through this county, is one of the 
most fertile and beautiful farming regions in Iowa, while it lies directly east of 
the Great Watershed, and, therefore, occupies nearly the highest land in the 
state. There is no difficulty in obtaining in any locality a good supply of the 
purest water. Fine groves of timber skirt the Des Moines River, consisting 
chiefly of oak, walnut, maple, hickory, elm and cottonwood. There are some 
beds of peat in the county, but as yet they have been very little used as fuel. 
There are no exposures of rock in the county, the only stone obtained for use in 
building being the boulders of the drift, which are found scattered over the 
prairies, and about the borders of the lakes. The county is well adapted to the 
growth of cereals, vegetables, and grasses.

HISTORY.

In 1856, settlement began in that part of the county where Estherville is 
now located. Among the settlers of this year were R. E. Ridley, A. H. Ridley, 
George Granger, William Granger, Jesse Coverdale, D. W. Hoyt, Adolphus 
Jenkins, and Henry Jenkins, who mostly located near the present town of 
Estherville.
The first child born was a son of John Rourike and wife at the Mud 
Lakes Settlement in the south part of the county. In the Spring of 1857, while 
the first marriage was that of George Jenkins and Adelia Ridley in the Spring of 
1859.
Emmet County was organized in February, 1859, and by the census of 
1860 contained a population of 105. The commissioners who officiated in 
locating the county seat were Lewis H. Smith, of Kossuth County, and Orlando 
C. Howe, of Dickinson. They received their appointment from Judge Hubbard, 
of Sioux City. The first county officers were: Adolphus Jenkins, County Judge; 
Jesse Coverdale, Clerk of the District Court; R. E. Ridley, Treasurer and 
Recorder; A. H. Ridley, Sheriff; Robert P. Ridley, Superintendent of Schools; 
and Henry Jenkins, Surveyor. Along the Des Moines River valley, south of 
Estherville, there is a large and prosperous settlement of Norwegians, who have 
located in the county since 1860.
The county officials for 1875 are;
     F. F. ALLEN, Auditor				J. M. BAKER, Clerk.
     D. M. L. BEMIS, Treasurer.			JESSE COVERDALE, 
Recorder.
     KNUT ESPESET, Sheriff.			E. H. BALLARD, Supt. of 
Common Schools.
ALFRED BIXBY, Chairman Board of Supervisors.

ESTHERVILLE.

	This place selected by the commissioners as the county seat, is situated 
on the east side of the Des Moines River, has some fine groves of timber in the 
vicinity, and is surrounded on all sides by an excellent farming country. The 
river at this point affords an excellent water power. A part of the town was laid 
out in 1858, and before the location of the county seat; the original proprietors 
being Adolphus Jenkins, R. E. Ridley, and Jesse Coverdale. The name was 
given in honor of Mrs. Esther A. Ridley, wife of R. E. Ridley, who lived here 
one Winter without seeing another white woman. R. E. Ridley built the first 
house in the town, and the first child born in the place was his daughter Anna, 
born in the Spring of 1858. Soon after the Spirit Lake massacre in the Spring of 
1857, a small military force was stationed here for the protection of the border 
against the Indians; a fort, or stockade, was erected, and a number of frame 
buildings put up by the Government. The first newspaper in the county was 
started here by O. C. Bates and Eaton Northrop, 1868, and was called the 
Northern Vindicator. With the natural advantages of being in the midst of a rich 
farming region, with fine water power and a good supply of timber in the 
immediate vicinity, the place has all the elements necessary for becoming one of 
considerable importance. The location is one of the most beautiful in the valley 
of the Des Moines.