Editing Humboldt County, Iowa (section)

==History==
===Founding===
Iowa's entry to the union was approved by Congress on March 3, 1845, with statehood beginning on December 28, 1846, following approval of the state's constitution and boundaries. In order to establish county government across the state, the [[Iowa General Assembly]] passed an act on January 15, 1851, which created fifty counties in the half of the state where county government had not yet been established. Humboldt County was created by this act, containing its present area, as well as four townships in present-day Webster County: [[Jackson Township, Webster County, Iowa|Jackson]], [[Deer Creek Township, Webster County, Iowa|Deer Creek]], [[Badger Township, Webster County, Iowa|Badger]], and [[Newark Township, Webster County, Iowa|Newark]].<ref>{{harvp|"Webster"|1913|p= 73}}.</ref> It was named after [[Alexander von Humboldt]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gannett, Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |year=1905 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n162 163]}}</ref> On January 21, 1855, an act merged the northern half of Humboldt County and [[Bancroft County, Iowa|Bancroft County]] into Kossuth County, with the southern half of Humboldt County merging into Webster County.<ref name="harvp|Webster|1913|p= 74">{{harvp|"Webster"|1913|p= 74}}.</ref>

The Sixth General Assembly passed another act, reestablishing Humboldt County. The act was passed on January 28, 1857, and went into effect on February 26.<ref name="harvp|Webster|1913|p= 74" /> However, an error omitted the lower four townships (Jackson, Deer Creek, Badger, and Newark) from returning to Humboldt County. The error was not caught until the next session of the general assembly, and the general assembly passed a bill redefining Humboldt County to include the four townships on March 11, 1858.<ref>{{harvp|"Webster"|1913|pp= 74-75}}.</ref> However, in the interceding time, the Constitution of Iowa came into effect, including the provision that "future laws altering county boundaries should be submitted to a vote of the people of the counties concerned and must be approved by them before going into effect".<ref>{{harvp|"Webster"|1913|p= 75}}.</ref> In a court case originating in the disputed area, the [[Iowa Supreme Court]] was asked to decide which county court had original jurisdiction. In their clarification, they ruled the March 11, 1858, clarification of Humboldt County's boundaries unconstitutional, as it had not been submitted to a public vote in the counties involved. In his decision, Chief Justice [[Ralph P. Lowe]] wrote, "We are compelled to conclude that township 90, in ranges 27 to 30, west of the 5th principal meridian, is still in and forms a part of Webster county. Of course we can pay no attention to conjectural surmises and vague suspicions, which have been made and entertained in relation to some unfairness which may have been practiced in the final passage of the act of 1857, creating the county of Humboldt. If such was the case, no evidence of the fact has been presented to us."<ref>{{harvp|"Webster"|1913|pp= 75-76}}.</ref> The "vague suspicions" include a rumor that John Duncombe of [[Fort Dodge, Iowa|Fort Dodge]] (namesake of [[Duncombe, Iowa]] and plaintiff in the lawsuit) had tricked Humboldt County into ceding the southern four townships to Webster County "on loan", or was otherwise responsible for the "error".<ref>{{Cite web |year=2011 |title=About Humboldt County |url=http://www.humboldtcountyia.org/content/view/12/15/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220035555/http://www.humboldtcountyia.org/content/view/12/15/ |archive-date=December 20, 2011 |access-date=December 5, 2011}}</ref>

In 1872, [[Humboldt College]] was opened and closed in 1916 because there was no agreement with the county about taxation.<ref name="hist">"City of Humboldt History." City of Humboldt. [http://www.ci.humboldt.ia.us/city/index.htm Online History.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919113804/http://www.ci.humboldt.ia.us/city/index.htm |date=September 19, 2007}} Retrieved August 10, 2010.</ref>