History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/3/Counties/Henry
HENRY COUNTY as first established in December, 1836, from the original county of Demoine, embraced portions of the present counties of Lee, Des Moines, Van Buren, Jefferson and Washington. On the 21st of January, 1839, it was established with present boundaries. It lies in the second tier west of the Mississippi River and also in the second north of the Missouri State line, contains an area of four hundred thirty-three square miles and was named for Governor Henry Dodge of Wisconsin Territory. The Skunk River runs through the county in southwesterly direction.
In the spring of 1834 James Dawson made a claim west of Mt. Pleasant. In the fall of the same year Presley Saunders of Springfield, Illinois, made a claim where Mr. Pleasant is located and the following year made the first plat of the town. In 1837 the Legislature of Wisconsin Territory located the county-seat at Mt. Pleasant. A post-office had been opened the year previous. Among the earliest settlers were Joseph Moore, A. C. Dover, John Wilford, Aaron Street, Jesse Hancock, Rev. W. M. Mortow, Rev. Samuel Hutton and Presley Saunders.
The county was organized in 1837 when the following officers were elected: Robert C. Roberts, treasurer; W. D. Brown, sheriff, and Robert Caulk, Samuel Brazelton and George J. Sharp, commissioners. The first term of court was held in a log cabin at Mt. Pleasant in April, 1837, at which Judge David Irwin presided. The first house in Mt. Pleasant was built in the fall of 1835 by Joseph Moore who opened a store in it. William Thompson was the first mayor of Mt. Pleasant. In 1849 D. M. Kelsey established the first newspaper called the Iowa Freeman. In and about the town of Salem a large number of families of Quakers settled at an early day. The first insane asylum of the State was located at Mt. Pleasant. The main line of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad runs through the county from east to west.