Bancroft County, Iowa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bancroft County |
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| County of Iowa | |||||||||
| 1851–1857 | |||||||||
 Location within the U.S. state of Iowa |
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| History | |||||||||
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• Established
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1851 | ||||||||
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• Disestablished
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1857 | ||||||||
| Contained within | |||||||||
| • Country |  United States |
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| • State |  Iowa |
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| Today part of | United States |
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Bancroft County, Iowa, was a short-lived county in the state of Iowa. It was located in what is now the northern part of Kossuth County. The county was created in 1851 by the Iowa General Assembly, which is Iowa's state legislature. However, it was removed from the map just six years later, in 1857.
When Bancroft County was abolished, its land became part of Kossuth County. This made Kossuth County roughly twice as large as its neighboring counties. The main reason Bancroft County was abolished was because much of its land was wetland. This meant it was too wet and marshy for farming at the time.
Today, only a small part of those original wetlands remain. Most of them are protected within the Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge. The rest of the land has been drained and is now good for modern farming.
The county was named after George Bancroft (1800–1891). He was a famous American historian and statesman. A statesman is a wise and experienced leader in government.
Interestingly, Bancroft County never had a main town, called a county seat. It also never set up its own county government.
Another Try: Crocker County
Years later, on May 13, 1870, a new county was formed in the same northern area of Kossuth County. This new county was called Crocker County. It included the 12 northern townships of Kossuth County. A township is a small area of land within a county. The main town for Crocker County was Greenwood Center.
Many settlers in southern Kossuth County were not happy about this new county. They wanted Kossuth County to remain the largest county in Iowa.
However, Crocker County later merged back into Kossuth County. This happened because it was discovered that Crocker County was against the state's rules. The Iowa Constitution said that a county must be at least 432 square miles. Crocker County was smaller than this minimum size.
Trying Again: Larrabee County
Even after Crocker County failed, there were more attempts to create a new county in northern Kossuth. On February 22, 1913, new laws were suggested to form a county there. The proposed new region would be called Larrabee County. It was named after William Larrabee, who was a former governor of Iowa. This attempt also did not succeed.
