Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/269



of the First Territorial Legislative Assembly, which, had first convened at Belmont.

Early in the session an act was passed dividing Dubuque County and organizing from its territory the counties of Clayton, Jackson, Clinton, Scott, Johnson, Linn, Benton, Jones and Delaware. The counties of Dubuque, Delaware, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Clinton, Cedar and Scott, as constituted at this session, embraced the same areas of territory and boundaries as now. Clayton County as then organized included a portion of Allamakee and only a part of the present county of Clayton. The county-seat, Prairie La Porte, was afterward named Guttenberg.

Fayette County as first established extended westward to the limits of the Territory and north to the British Possessions, embracing in its vast area most of what afterward made twenty-eight counties of northern Iowa, and all of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River (excepting a small tract in the southeast corner) and all of the Dakotas east of the Missouri and White Earth River. It covered an area of nearly 140,000 square miles, being nearly three times the size of the State of Iowa. Buchanan extended west to the Missouri River, embracing territory which has since been divided into ten Iowa counties. Benton embraced all of the territory in that range west of Linn County, to the western boundary of the State, including in its limits nine future counties. Keokuk embraced all of that range west of Johnson County to the Missouri River, taking in territory afterward contained in nine counties, but embracing only the northern tier of townhips in Keokuk County as now bounded.

Johnson County as organized at this time included in its limits three of the northern townships in the present county of Washington. The Legislature at this session provided a board of commissioners, consisting of three electors in each county to transact its ordinary business. It abolished all laws authorizing imprisonment for debt, also authorized a census to be taken of the inhabitants