Logan, IA

Logan is Harrison County’s seat, set on the Boyer River where Henry Reel arrived in 1852. Reel and his sons built a gristmill and sawmill in 1856, giving the first settlement the name Boyer Falls; when the town was platted in 1867, it became Logan in honor of Union General John A. Logan. The Chicago and North Western Railway’s extension helped trigger that 1867 plat. The county-seat question was contested in the early days, with rival plans on opposite sides of the Boyer, but Logan eventually won the courthouse. The river still gives the city its shape, while Logan–Magnolia schools keep the local service area regional. Western Iowa in one paragraph: river, mill, railroad, courthouse.