Muscatine County, Iowa

Muscatine County, Iowa
Muscatine County Courthouse in Muscatine
Location in the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 7, 1836
Seat	Muscatine
Largest city	Muscatine
Area
• Total	449 sq mi (1,163 km2)
• Land	437 sq mi (1,132 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (31 km2), 2.6%
Population
• (2010)	42,745
• Density	98/sq mi (38/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.muscatine.ia.us

Muscatine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,745. The county seat is Muscatine. The southeastern border is formed by the Mississippi River.

Muscatine County comprises the Muscatine, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Davenport-Moline, IA-IL Combined Statistical Area.

Muscatine County was formed on December 7, 1836 as a part of Wisconsin Territory, and split off from Des Moines County. One history of the county claims it was named for Muscatine Island in the Mississippi River. The island lies opposite Muscatine County and was believed to be named after the Mascouten tribe, Algonquian-speaking Native Americans who lived in the area before being driven west by settler encroachment and other tribes.

In 1833, Colonel George Davenport of Illinois sent three representatives into the territory to establish a trade post. They were the first European Americans to settle there. In the same year, James W. Casey and John Vanatta came to the area. They opened a supply depot for steamboats on June 1, 1833, and named it Casey’s Woodpile. (The steamboats burned wood.) Muscatine County officially became a part of Iowa Territory on the date the territory was established and split from Wisconsin Territory, on July 4, 1838. The first public land sale was held in November 1838. One year later, the construction of the courthouse and a jail was begun. A second jail, referred to as the "Old Jail", was built in 1857.