Sigourney, IA

Sigourney is Keokuk County’s seat, with a courthouse and Public Square Historic District both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town’s first cabin was built in 1844 by S.A. James, the county clerk, close to the stake marking the future public square. County commissioner Dr. George H. Stone chose the name for Lydia Huntley Sigourney, a popular poet whose portrait still hangs in the courthouse foyer. The Sigourney Community School District draws students from surrounding communities across nearly 70 square miles. Sigourney is an Iowa county seat with a preserved square, a poet’s name, and a first cabin that doubled as the county’s early office, courtroom, and jail.