Story County, Iowa

Story County, Iowa
Story County Administration Building
Location in the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	1846
Named for	Joseph Story
Seat	Nevada
Largest city	Ames
Area
• Total	574 sq mi (1,487 km2)
• Land	573 sq mi (1,484 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2 km2), 0.1%
Population
• (2010)	89,542
• Density	156/sq mi (60/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.storycountyiowa.gov

Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,542. The county seat is Nevada.

Story county comprises the Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area.

The county is home to Iowa State University in Ames.

The land that today is known as Story County was originally prairie with the exception of some groves along the larger streams in the area. In 1846 the boundaries of Story County were established. The County has an area of 576 square miles (1,490 km²) and is square in shape.

The county was named after Joseph Story, a preeminent United States Supreme Court Justice, in 1853.

The first settlers in Story County came mainly from Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania. Later, many Norwegians, Germans and Danes came directly from overseas and inhabited the area. The first large population influx occurred during the 1850s. Story County was not mentioned in the Federal Census in 1850, but figures from the State of Iowa put the population at 214 in 1852. By 1860 the population had increased to 4,501.

Three commissioners appointed by the Iowa legislature selected the location of county seat on June 27, 1853. The location was Nevada, Iowa. Nevada (pronounced Nuh-VAY-Dah) was named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. Like many Midwestern towns, cities and counties, many prominent locations from the newly explored West and Mexican-American War of the late 1840s inspired the naming of towns and counties in Iowa during this period.