DECATUR county lies on the south line of the state of Iowa and in the fifth tier east of the Missouri River. It encompasses an area of 534 square miles and was established in January, 1846. The county was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, a naval officer in the War of 1812.
The first settlers were William Hamilton, Reuben and James Hatfield, Alfred Stanley, John McDaniel, John E. Logan, and Allen Scott. The state was quite wild and uninhabited between 1838-1840 when the men arrived and they settled in thinking that they were in Missouri! Once they realized that they were in Iowa, they released their slaves and proceeded to raise large families instead. Slavery had been outlawed in Iowa by then.
The county was organized on April 1, 1850 by the election of the following officers: Josiah Morgan, William Hamilton and Asa Burrill, commissioners; Henry B. Norton, clerk; J. J. Stanley, sheriff. By July, 1851, the county-seat was established in a place known as Decatur. Then they surveyed the land, platted it, and sold lots in August, 1851.
A log court-house was built in October but by 1853 the county-seat was changed to what some people believed was a more central location. The new town was laid out and named Independence and there a new courthouse was built, this time of brick. The first house was built by Thomas East, a log cabin, and the second was built by Judge S. C. Thompson. I.N. Clark opened the first store in September, 1853., and the first newspaper was established in 1855 by P. H. and George Binkley.
Taken from http://iagenweb.org/history/hoi/HOI3Counties1.html
