Washington County
was originally organized and established in 1839 as
Slaughter County; however residents soon changed the name
to Washington County in honor of George
Washington.
Washington County is
located in Southeast Iowa and covers 556.75 square miles
in the richest of America's agricultural region. The
population of the county was 19,612 people according to
the 1990 census. The nine incorporated cities in the
county are Ainsworth, Brighton, Coppock, Crawfordsville,
Kalona, Riverside, Washington, Wellman, and West
Chester.
Washington City is the
county seat of Washington County and county business has
been conducted at the courthouse, 222 West Main Street,
since 1887.