Editing Mahaska County, Iowa (section)

==History==
[[File:Mahaska.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Mahaska, from Fulton's ''Red Men of Iowa'' (1882)]]
Mahaska County was formed in February 1843. The county has been self-governing since February 5, 1844. It was named after [[Chief Mahaska]] of the [[Iowa people]]. The county was the first in Iowa to have a sheriff and a justice of peace.<ref name=MC>[http://www.iowacounties.org/About%20Us/AboutCoGov/County%20Pages/Mahaska.htm Mahaska County] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070703140822/http://www.iowacounties.org/About%20Us/AboutCoGov/County%20Pages/Mahaska.htm|date=July 3, 2007}}</ref>

The first courthouse was completed in January 1846. When a larger structure was required, the second courthouse was constructed in 1885–86, first being used on February 27, 1886. The first school, a small log cabin one-half mile (ca. 2&nbsp;km) east of Oskaloosa, was opened on September 16, 1844, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church opened as the first church in 1846.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mahaskacounty.org/about/about.html |title=About Mahaska |access-date=January 20, 2008 |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509091956/http://www.mahaskacounty.org/about/about.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On July 2, 1850, the first edition of the ''Iowa Herald'' was issued (today the ''Oskaloosa Herald''). The first tracks of the [[Des Moines Valley Railroad]] were laid through the county in 1864.<ref name=MC/>

Coal mining was once a major industry in Mahaska County.<ref>Map of [http://www.gis.centralareatechteam.org/img/org/Mahaska/Coal_Mines.jpg Historic Coal Mines in Mahaska County]{{dead link|date=January 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, Mahaska 4-H Tech Team, May 2006.</ref> During the 19th century, [[Consolidation Coal Company (Iowa)#Muchakinock|Muchakinock]], about {{convert|5|mi|km}} south of Oskaloosa, was probably the largest and most prosperous coal camp in Iowa.
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