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O'Brien
County.
Was organized in 1860, and
is in the second tier of counties from the northern boundary line of the
State, and the second east of the western boundary. It is bounded on the
north by Osceola County, on the east by Clay, on the south by Cherokee and
on the west by Sioux. It contains 576 square miles, being twenty-four
miles square. It is watered by the tributaries of the Little Sioux and
Floyd Rivers.
This county has but few inhabitants, though it will be attractive to the
farmer immigrants as soon as the railroad is built, which will pass about
eight miles from its southern line. There is but little timber in the
county. It lies high, and most of it is very level.
O'BRIEN, the county seat, and the only post office in the county, is in
the southeast township.
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Osceola
County.
Is situated in the northwestern portion of the State, being in the
northern tier of counties and the second east from Nebraska. It is
bounded on the east by Dickenson, on the south by O'Brien, and on the
west by Lyon. It is watered by the headwaters of the Little Sioux and
Rock Rivers. It is not yet organized.
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Page
County.
Is in the
southern tier of counties, and the second east of the Missouri River,
and is bounded on the north by Montgomery County, on the east by Taylor,
and on the West by Fremont. The county was organized in 1851, and is
twenty-four miles square.
It is
watered by the Nodaway River, flowing through the eastern part , the Big
Tarkio, through the centre, West Tarkio, through the western, and the
East Nodaway, through the northwestern part. There are large bottom
lands on each of these streams, which are mostly dry, and good farming
lands. The streams in the eastern part of the county are skirted by
heavy bodies of timber, principally white oak. On the west side of the
county there is very little timber, and it is not so well settled as the
east side. The remaining land in the county is beautifully rolling
prairie, which is highly productive. There is good building stone and
coal on the Nodaway River.
CLARINDA is
in the eastern central portion of the county, on Nodaway River. It is
laid out in the form of a square, around which are most of the business
houses. It contains several churches, a very fine graded school
building, which would do honor to a much larger place, an extensive
woolen factory, a flour mill, a plow factory, three drug stores, seven
general stores, four groceries and two hardware stores, besides many
mechanical shops. It is a thriving and pleasant place, and is surrounded
by some of the best farming lands of Western Iowa. Population, about
800.
The other
villages and post offices are Hawleysville, on the East Nodaway; Amity,
in the southwestern part, where there is a flourishing college; Centre;
College Spring; Franklin Grove; Meade; Page City, and Tarkio. |