Des Moines County, Iowa

Des Moines County, Iowa
Des Moines County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	1834
Named for	Des Moines River
Seat	Burlington
Largest city	Burlington
Area
• Total	430 sq mi (1,114 km2)
• Land	416 sq mi (1,077 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (36 km2), 3.2%
Population
• (2010)	40,325
• Density	97/sq mi (37/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.des-moines.ia.us

Des Moines County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,325. The county seat is Burlington. It is one of Iowa's two original counties along with Dubuque County; both were organized by the Michigan Territorial legislature in 1834.

Des Moines County is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Des Moines County should not be confused with the city of Des Moines, which is the capital of Iowa. Des Moines County sits on Iowa's eastern border alongside the Mississippi River. The city of Des Moines is in Polk County in south-central Iowa. Both places derive their name from the Des Moines River, which flows through the city of Des Moines and originally flowed through the county. When the county was divided early in Iowa's history, the river ended up further west, forming the border between Lee County, Iowa and the state of Missouri.

At an extra session of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Michigan Territory held in September, 1834, the Iowa District was divided into two counties by running a line due west from the lower end of Rock Island in the Mississippi River. The territory north of this line (which started just south of the present-day Davenport) was named Dubuque County, and all south of it was Demoine County. It was named after the Des Moines River. From July 3, 1836 until July 3, 1838, Des Moines County was part of Wisconsin Territory. The county underwent various border changes during this time. July 4, 1838, the named county became part of Iowa Territory (later the state of Iowa).