Editing Winnebago County, Iowa (section)

== History ==
"When the first white settlers came into the county, and for some years thereafter, roving bands of [[Ho-Chunk|Winnebago Indians]] made their temporary home within the limits of the county. At times there would be as many as one hundred living along the Lime Creek valley or about Coon Grove, and at other times there would be but a mere handful ... During the summer seasons they would cache their cooking utensils, leave their tepees standing and go northward into Minnesota to hunt and trap. At that time the Winnebago agency was located about forty miles north of [[Forest City, Iowa|Forest City]]." The Winnebago were [[Indian removal|removed]] after the [[Dakota War of 1862]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pioneer Publishing Company (Chicago) |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofwinneba00pion |title=History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement .. |date=1917 |publisher=Chicago, The Pioneer Publishing Company |others=New York Public Library}}</ref>

Initial settlement was in the wooded eastern third of the county, with prairie and marshy areas in the west being settled after 1880.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Winnebago County |url=http://iagenweb.org/winnebago/History/Overview.htm |access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=IAGenWeb - History}}</ref> Early teachers in Winnebago County were required to be able to converse in the language of their pupils. Many of the county's pioneers were of [[Norwegian Americans|Norwegian descent]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Centennial Book Committee |title=A peek at the past ... Thompson, Iowa, 1892-1992. A good place to call home |year=1992 |pages=48}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

The oldest standing structure in the county is Trinity Church, built in 1874.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trinity Church |url=https://whsiowa.org/mansion-museum/trinity-church/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=Winnebago Historical Society}}</ref>

In 1938, the Winnebago Rural Electric Cooperative was established. The first section of lines was energized on January 3, 1940.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Centennial Book Committee |title=A peek at the past ... Thompson, Iowa, 1892-1992. A good place to call home |year=1992 |pages=22–23}}</ref>

A 1951 movie by the [[Rural Utilities Service#Rural Electrification Administration|Rural Electrification Administration]]  featured local residents describing the struggles for adequate phone service in Winnebago County, prior to the federal loan which enabled the Winnebago Cooperative Telephone Association to convert the area to modern dial service.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Centennial Book Committee |title=A peek at the past ... Thompson, Iowa, 1892-1992. A good place to call home |year=1992 |pages=25–26}}</ref>

The Winnebago Industries RV manufacturing company was founded in Forest City in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldfield |first=Raymond |date=October 24, 2022 |title=Take A Tour Of The World's Largest RV Factory In Iowa |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/take-a-tour-of-the-worlds-largest-rv-factory-in-iowa/ar-AA13k5cK |access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=MSN |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Winnebago Historical Society is located in the Mansion Museum in Forest City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum |url=https://whsiowa.org/mansion-museum/museum/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |website=Winnebago Historical Society}}</ref>