Several weeks back I cruised around Henry County with Teresa harvesting their town signs. It was a good trip as we met up with Jodie and Doug Cue for lunch in Mount Pleasant. The only trip where I met up with somebody who lived in the county where I was harvesting.
Here are some facts about Henry County:
+ Population is 20,387. Making it the 33rd most populous county in Iowa. Below Buchanan County and above Winneshiek County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Mount Pleasant.
+ Formed on December 7, 1836 as part of the Wisconsin Territory and then became part of the Iowa Territory on July 4, 1838.
+ Named for General Henry Dodge.
+ Home of Iowa Wesleyan.
+ Home of the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.
+ Major highways are US-34, US-218, US-27, IA-16, and IA-78.
+ Adjacent counties are Washington, Louisa, Des Moines, Van Buren, and Jefferson.
+ Population peaked at 21,463 in 1870.
Henry County has a pretty blah courthouse:
The Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
The Henry County Freedom Rock is located in Winfield, Iowa:
With Henry County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
PURPLE=COMPLETED
91 counties completed. 91.9% of the Cyclone State conquered!
Here are the town signs of Henry County:
Mount Pleasant, Iowa
MT. PLEASANT
Population: 9,274 (+606)
New London, Iowa
Welcome To NEW LONDON
Population: 1,910 (+23)
Winfield, Iowa
Winfield
Est. 1882
Population: 1,033 (-101)
Wayland, Iowa
Wayland
Est. 1880
Population: 964 (-2)
Salem, Iowa
SALEM
FOUNDED 1835
Population: 394 (+11)
Olds, Iowa
WELCOME to Olds
Population: 163 (-66)
Hillsboro, Iowa
HILLSBORO COMMUNITY CENTER
Population: 163 (-17)
Rome, Iowa
Welcome to Rome Chicauqua
Est. 1846
LAND OF THE FREE
BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE
Population: 114 (-3)
Westwood, Iowa
CITY OF WESTWOOD
EST. 1892
Population: 101 (-11)
Mount Union, Iowa – Unincorporated
Mt. Union
Founded 1904
Swedesburg, Iowa – Unincorporated
Welcome to SWEDESBURG
MUSEUM & GIFT SHOP
Henry County has kind of a mediocre collection of town signs. Not terrible, but not outstanding. The worst one is easily Hillsboro as they didn’t have a real town sign at all. Oh Heavenly Hillsboro! Do you a hole in your head or your head in a hole!
There are a couple of town signs I like in Henry County. Olds has a solid sign. As does Rome and Westwood. I definitely like Salem’s hard to find town sign. But I’m giving the purple ribbon to Swedesburg.
Swedesburg – Best in Show – Henry County
There was one alternate town sign for Henry County:
Mount Pleasant – Alternate
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Adair County
Best in Show – Adams County
Best in Show – Allamakee County
Best in Show – Appanoose County
Best in Show – Audubon County
Best in Show – Benton County
Best in Show – Black Hawk County
Best in Show – Boone County
Best in Show – Bremer County
Best in Show – Buchanan 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 – Chickasaw County
Best in Show – Clarke County
Best in Show – Clay County
Best in Show – Clayton County
Best in Show – Clinton County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Dallas County
Best in Show – Decatur County
Best in Show – Delaware County
Terril – Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Dickinson County
Best in Show – Emmet County
Best in Show – Fayette County
Best in Show – Floyd 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 – Henry County
Best in Show – Howard 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 – Johnson County
Best in Show – Jones County
Best in Show – Keokuk County
Best in Show – Kossuth County
Best in Show – Linn County
Best in Show – Lucas County
Best in Show – Lyon 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 – Mitchell County
Best in Show – Monona County
Best in Show – Monroe County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Muscatine County
Best in Show – O’Brien County
Best in Show – Osceola County
Best in Show – Page County
Best in Show – Palo Alto County
Best in Show – Plymouth 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 – Sioux County
Best in Show – Story County
Best in Show – Tama County
Best in Show – Taylor County
Best in Show – Union County
Best in Show – Wapello County
Best in Show – Warren County
Best in Show – Washington County
Best in Show – Wayne County
Best in Show – Webster County
Best in Show – Winnebago County
Best in Show – Winneshiek County
Best in Show – Woodbury 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 Jefferson County.
Salem was my favorite of this batch – and I’m not a huge nationalist or anything. I just thought it was a clever use of bricks!
New London could have done something clever in reference to “regular London.” Missed opportunity.