Story County, Iowa
Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,542. The county seat is Nevada.
Story county comprises the Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area.
The county is home to Iowa State University in Ames.
History
The land that today is known as Story County was originally prairie with the exception of some groves along the larger streams in the area. In 1846 the boundaries of Story County were established. The County has an area of 576 square miles (1,490 km2) and is square in shape.
The county was named after Joseph Story, a preeminent United States Supreme Court Justice, in 1853.
The first settlers in Story County came mainly from Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania. Later, many Norwegians, Germans and Danes came directly from overseas and inhabited the area. The first large population influx occurred during the 1850s. Story County was not mentioned in the Federal Census in 1850, but figures from the State of Iowa put the population at 214 in 1852. By 1860 the population had increased to 4,501.
