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On January 13, 1846, Marshall County was created by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa. The county was named after John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1801-1835.  On November 8, 1846, Samuel W. Durham, deputy surveyor, began to survey land within the present limits of Marshall county.  His field notes are preserved in the State Land Office at Des Moines.  He began at the corner of sections 25 and 36 of township 83 north, range17 west of the Fifth Principal Meridian. In the surveying party were John Harman, Nathaniel Chapman and Samuel Hendrickson, as well as Durham.

In the previous year, Joseph Carper Davidson and his wife Mary and son Lucius came to what would be Marshall County. They spent the winter of 1846 near Iowa City and returned to their cabin in the spring of 1847. He is said to be the first settler of the county.
(c) Copyright 2007-24 by Jennie Williams Pahls. Last updated on October 7, 2024.