A few weeks back I hit the open road to harvest the town signs of Winnebago County.

Here are some facts about Winnebago County:

+ The population is 10,679 making it the 69th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Hancock County and above Guthrie County. (Unrelated question, do you think that whenever teachers ask their classes to pick a number, do they still always pick 69 and the laugh uncontrollably? I bet they still do.)
+ The largest town and county seat is Forest City, which is partially in Hancock County.
+ Founded in 1847.
+ Founded after the Native American tribe also known as the Ho-Chunk.
+ Location of motor home manufacturers Winnebag.
+ Major highways are US-69 and US-9. (Unrelated, but back in the day college students used to steal Highway 69 signs and thought it was hilarious. I bet they still do.)
+ Adjacent counties are Worth, Hancock, Kossuth, and Cerro Gordo.
+ Population peaked in 1940 at 13,972.

The Winnebago Courthouse is pretty sweet. Especially the fountain out front.

The Winnebago Courthouse in Forest City, Iowa.

The Winnebago County Freedom Rock is located in Lake Mills, Iowa.

If you ever want to check out all the Freedom Rocks and Courthouses to date, just click on this link below:

Courthouses and Freedom Rocks

With Winnebago County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

49 counties completed. 49.5% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the town signs of Winnebago County:

Forest City, Iowa (Partially in Hancock County)
Forest City
Population: 4,285 (+134)

Lake Mills, Iowa
LAKE MILLS
EST. 1869
Population: 2,143 (+43)

Buffalo Center, Iowa
WELCOME TO… BUFFALO CENTER
Population: 857 (-48)

Thompson, Iowa
Thompson
Est. 1892
Population: 495 (-7)

Leland, Iowa
WELCOME TO… LELAND
WATERMELON DAYS SINCE 1934
A GREAT PLACE TO CALL HOME.
Population: 249 (-40)

Rake, Iowa
Velkommen
RAKE IOWA
EST. 1900
A Little Bit of Norway And A Lot Of Pride
Population: 186 (-39)

Scarville, Iowa
SCARVILLE
Population: 74 (+2)

I don’t think there is a bad town sign in the bunch. If I had to pick a least favorite, it would probably be Lake Mills or Thompson gets points for the at least using a fun font.

Best in Show is pretty obvious. I like the town signs of Leland and Rake, but really it is all about the Buffalo.

Buffalo Center – Best in Show – Winnebago County

When I worked at the Campus Outpost of the Evil Clown Empire my Breakfast Assistant was a woman named Jean Smith. She was from Buffalo Center, Iowa. Jean passed away a few years after I left for the Computer Mine. She was a fascinating person and have many fond memories of her. I thought about her as I drove through Buffalo Center.

A few towns in Winnebago County have alternate town signs:

Thompson – Alternate

Rake – Alternate

Buffalo Center – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Adams County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Bremer County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cass County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Fremont County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Kossuth County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Mills County

Best in Show – Monona County

Best in Show – Montgomery County

Best in Show – Page County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Ringgold County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Shelby County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Taylor County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Winnebago Count

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will head south to Decatur County.