Editing Plymouth County, Iowa (section)

==History==
Plymouth County was formed on January 15, 1851. Settlement began in the county in 1856. In October 1859, the first courthouse was built in Melbourne, formerly located in the southeast quarter of section 34, Plymouth Township, about five to six miles due south of Merrill.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Counties of Woodbury and Plymouth, Iowa|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofcountie00warn|date=1890|publisher=A. Warner & Co.|location=Chicago|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofcountie00warn/page/434 434]}}</ref> The first public school opened its doors there with 32 pupils. In 1872 the county seat was moved to Le Mars and a courthouse and jail were built there in 1873. The present [[Plymouth County Courthouse (Iowa)|Plymouth County Courthouse]] was built in 1900 of red sandstone.<ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://www.co.plymouth.ia.us/about/about.aspx|title=Historical Facts About Plymouth County|website=Co.plymouth.ia.us|access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref>

During the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], farmers in the county organized the Farmers Holiday Group, to keep farm products off the market until the desired price was met. A radical group among them abducted Judge Bradley from his court chamber and threatened to hang him in the front of the courthouse. Bradley was freed, but the governor ordered the national guard to Plymouth County and declared a state of emergency, which effectively ended the group.<ref name="History"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dgVRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QL4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4079,2785167&dq=lemarrs+iowa&hl=en|title=Martial Law at Le Mars|newspaper=[[Telegraph Herald|Dubuque Telegraph-Herald]]|date=April 28, 1933|page=1|access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref>