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

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OSCEOLA COUNTY.

	Osceola County is in the northern tier, and second from the western boundary of the state, and 
contains a superficial area of 392 square miles, or 250,880 acres. It is watered and drained by the east fork 
of Rock River, Ocheydan, Otter, and several smaller creeks. These streams meander through valleys of 
great fertility, producing luxuriant crops of excellent grass. Good well water is obtained at all points by 
digging from ten to twenty feet. The county is entirely destitute of native timber, being a broad expanse of 
gently rolling prairie, all of which is susceptible of cultivation. The soil is generally a dark loam, with a 
slight mixture of clay on the table lands, and a small quantity of sand and vegetable mold in the valleys. 
The Ocheydan Valley, which passes through the central and southeastern part of the county, is a broad belt 
of great fertility, bordered by high rolling prairie. There are no exposures of rocks, in place in the county, 
but boulders are occasionally found scattered over the surface. The St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad crosses 
the county from northeast to southwest, and was completed in the Summer of 1872.

HISTORICAL.

	Capt. E. Huff was the first white man who settled in the county, coming in the Fall of 1870, and 
locating in township 98, range 42, in the valley of Otter Creek, in the southwestern part of the county. He 
did not remain over winter, but returned to his claim in the Spring of 1871. Among others who settled in 
the Spring of this year, were D. L. McCausland, C. M. Brooks, W. W. Webb, F. M. Robinson, E. Morrison, 
M. A. Churchill, R. O. Manson, A. M. Culver, and Frank Stiles, mostly from the eastern part of the state. 
	The county was organized January 1, 1872, having previously been attached to Woodbury County 
for revenue and judicial purposes. The county seat was located at Sibley, in March, 1872, by the following 
commissioners, appointed from adjoining counties, to wit; Orson Rice, of Dickinson; C. W. Inman, of 
O'Brien; and J. S. Howell, of Lyon. The town of Sibley was laid out in the Fall of 1871, and was named in 
honor of Gen. H. H. Sibley, of St. Paul. The first election for county officers was held October 10, 1871, at 
the house of A. M. Culver, when the following were elected; F. M. Robinson, Auditor; A. M. Culver, 
Treasurer; C. M. Brooks, Clerk of Courts; D. L. McCausland, Recorder; Frank Stiles, Sheriff; Delia Stiles, 
Superintendent of Schools; John Beaumont, Drainage Commissioner, and J. H. Winspear, George 
Spaulding and H. R. Fenton, Board of Supervisors. The first court was held at Sibley, July 14, and 15, 
1872, by Hon. Henry Ford, District Judge. The first religious meeting held in the county was in June, 1871, 
by Rev. S. Aldrich, a Methodist minister. The first school was taught by Mrs. Dillia Stiles, in the Fall of 
1871, on section 12, township 99, range 42.

COUNTY OFFICERS FOR 1875.

	WALLACE M. MORE, Auditor.			JOHN F. GLOVER, Clerk.
	S. A. WRIGHT, Treasurer.			D. L. McCAUSLAND, Recorder.
	JOHN H. DOUGLASS, Sheriff.			J. M. JENKINS, Supt. of Public Schools.
D. L. RILEY, Chairman Board of Supervisors.

SIBLEY.

	This is the county seat, and was the first town laid out in the county. It is located on the northeast 
quarter of section 13, township 99, range 42, and was laid out by the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad 
Company in October, 1872. The first building on the town site was erected and occupied by F. M. 
Robinson, in 1871. The Sibley Gazette was started in July, 1872, by L. A. Barker, being the first newspaper 
published in the county. The first business house was erected by H. K. Rodgers, soon after the town was 
laid out. A good court house was erected in 1873, at a cost of about $5,000, and is located on a block of 
ground donated for the purpose by the railroad company. The company also donated another block for a 
public school house, which was built in 1872, at a cost of $3,500, and also set apart a block, centrally 
located, for a public park. From Sibley to Sioux City the distance is seventy-four miles, and from St. Paul, 
one hundred and ninety-five miles. The place is situated to command the trade of an extensive region of 
country.

ST. GILMAN.

	This is a railroad station seven miles southwest of Sibley, and when the rich farming region which 
surrounds it is developed, will doubtless become an important shipping point.