A month or so back I made a trip to O’Brien County to harvest their town signs.
Here are some facts about O’Brien County:
+ Population 13,796 making it the 56th most populous county in Iowa. Below Harrison County and above Allamakee County.
+ Largest town is Sheldon. The county seat is Primghar.
+ Named for William Smith O’Brien an Irish revolutionary.
+ The county seat was named from the initials of the eight persons involved in platting the town.
+ Home of an Indian Village State Preserve.
+ Major highways are US-18, US-59, IA-10, IA-60, and IA-143.
+ Adjacent counties are Osceola, Clay, Cherokee, and Sioux.
+ Population peaked in 1940 at 19,293.
The O’Brien County Courthouse looks an awful lot like Boone’s Courthouse:
The O’Brien County Courthouse located in Primghar, Iowa.
The O’Brien Freedom Rock is located in Sanborn, Iowa:
With O’Brien County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
PURPLE=COMPLETED
65 counties completed. 65.7% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of O’Brien County:
Sheldon, Iowa (Partially in Sioux County)
Welcome to Sheldon
Population: 5,512 (-495)
Hartley, Iowa
Hartley
the city with a heart
Population: 1,605 (-67)
Sanborn, Iowa
SANBORN
ESTABLISHED 1878
Population: 1,392 (-12)
Paullina, Iowa
PAULLINA
Population: 982 (-74)
Primghar, Iowa
WELCOME TO PRIMGHAR
Population: 896 (-13)
Sutherland, Iowa
Welcome to SUTHERLAND
Est. 1881 & Inc. 1883
Population: 629 (-20)
Calumet, Iowa
CALUMET
Population: 146 (-24)
Archer, Iowa
ARCHER
QUASICENTENIAL
JULY 5, 6, 7
125 YEARS OF SMALL TOWN PRIDE
Population: 117 (-14)
Germantown, Iowa – Unincorporated
Welcome To Germantown
SETTLED 1882
I think that O’Brien County has a very solid set of signs. There isn’t any giant boring rock monstrosities. But the worst one is very evident. It is Calumet.
The purple ribbon this week is a little bit harder to decide. I do like Hartley’s sign. I also really like the sign for Germantown. Sutherland and Sanborn also have solid signs. But I’m giving Best in Show to Paullina.
Paullina – Best in Show – O’Brien County
There are several alternate town signs in O’Brien County:
Sutherland – Alternate
Sanborn – Alternate
Primghar – Alternate
Primghar – Alternate
Primghar – Alternate
Paullina – Alternate
Paullina – Alternate
Paullina – Alternate
Calumet – 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 – Buena Vista County
Best in Show – Butler County
Best in Show – Calhoun County
Best in Show – Carroll County
Best in Show – Cass County
Best in Show – Cedar County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Cherokee County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur 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 Sow – Harrison County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Ida County
Best in Show – Iowa County
Best in Show – Jackson County
Best in Show – Jasper County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Madison County
Best in Show – Mahaska County
Best in Show – Marion County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Mills County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Polk County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie 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 – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Worth County
Best in Show – Wright County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Osceola County.