Editing Cerro Gordo County, Iowa (section)

==History==
Cerro Gordo County was formed in 1851 and takes its name from the [[Battle of Cerro Gordo]] in the [[Mexican–American War]], where General [[Winfield Scott]] defeated the Mexican [[General Santa Anna]] on April 18, 1847.

In 1851 the first white settlers came into the area of the present county and settled on Clear Lake. Four years later, on August 7, 1855, the first elections were held and the first legal proceedings occurred in 1857. In the summer of the same year, Livonia was chosen as the new county seat. In 1858, the seat was returned to Mason City. In 1866, the first courthouse was erected, which was used until 1900. The courthouse still used today opened on November 17, 1960.

Cerro Gordo County was the site of the [[The Day the Music Died|airplane crash]] north of the city of [[Clear Lake, Iowa|Clear Lake]], in which rock and roll stars [[Buddy Holly]], [[Ritchie Valens]], and [[The Big Bopper|J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson]], along with their pilot [[Roger Peterson (pilot)|Roger A. Peterson]], were killed on February 3, 1959. The site is in [[Grant Township, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa|Grant Township]], in the northwestern part of the county.