Cedar County was formed on December 21, 1837, from sections of Dubuque County. It was named for the Cedar River. In 1840, the City of Tipton, the current county seat, was established.

Before the American Civil War, the area around West Branch was an active focal point of the Underground Railroad, a network for the freeing of slaves from the southern states.

The former US President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was born in West Branch in Cedar County.

The Cedar County Sheriff's House and Jail is believed to be the last jail and residence combination still in use when it closed in 2001. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

On Line Data

Cities Bennett Clarence Durant Lowden Mechanicsville Stanwood Tipton West Branch Census-designated place Rochester Unincorporated communities Buchanan Cedar Bluff Cedar Valley Centerdale Downey Lime City Plato Massillon Springdale Sunbury Wald Townships Cass Center Dayton Fairfield Farmington Fremont Gower Inland Iowa Linn Massillon Pioneer Red Oak Rochester Springdale Springfield Sugar Creek

Adjacent counties Jones County (north) Clinton County (northeast) Scott County (southeast) Muscatine County (south) Johnson County (west) Linn County (northwest)

Cedar County Court House

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