History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/3/Counties/Dallas
DALLAS COUNTY lies in the fourth tier north of the Missouri State line, in the fifth east of the Missouri River and was formerly included in the county of Keokuk. On the 17th of January, 1846, the county was created and named for George M. Dallas, then Vice-President of the United States. It contains sixteen congressional townships with an area of five hundred eighty-eight square miles. The Indians continued to occupy the county until the beginning of the year 1846 and soon after it was opened to settlement by whites.
On the 12th of March, 1846, Samuel Miller took a claim in the central part of the county near the Raccoon River and built a cabin. Soon after Wilson Miller, John Wright, Levi A. Davis and others made claims in the fine groves in that vicinity. During the year many settlers came to different parts of the county and opened farms. Samuel Miller built the first mill in that region which was run by horse power.
The county was organized in February, 1847, and commissioners chosen to locate the county-seat. They selected a site in May, a town was laid out and named Panouoch, a word of Indian origin. The claim upon which the town was platted had been taken in 1846 by Elijah T. Miller of which he conveyed a part to the county. S. K. Scovell, the clerk of the county, built the first house for an office and Benjamin Green opened the first store. The first term of court was held by Judge Carlton in September, 1847. In 1849 the name of the town was changed to Adel. The first newspaper was established in 1856 by Rippey and Reed and named the Ship of State. The Des Moines Valley Railroad was constructed through the county from the southeast during 1869-70 and several towns were laid out on its line. Among them were Dallas Center and Perry, the latter the largest town in the county. Redfield, laid out on the Raccoon River, was established by Colonel James Redfield who was killed in the Civil War.
Upon the organization of Dallas County the following offices were chosen: Samuel Miller, clerk; L. A. Davis, recorder and treasurer; J. K. Miller, sheriff, and W. W. Miller, surveyor.