Town Sign Project: O’Brien County

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

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.