Appanoose Co., Iowa
Appanoose County was established by the Iowa Territorial Legislature on January 13, 1846. It is named for the chief of the Sac and the Fox Indian tribes who headed the peace party during the Black Hawk War. Appanoose means "A Chief When a Child."
Appanoose County was one of the main coal mining areas in Iowa during the first third of the 20th century.
Appanoose is the fourth county west of the Mississippi River in the south tier of Iowa counties. It extends twenty-four miles, or the breadth of four Congressional townships east and west, and about twenty-one and a half miles north and south, or the breadth of three full townships and a tier of fractional townships along the state line. Its area is about 516 square miles.