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Iowa County
Delaware County, Iowa
Manchester's Maquoketa River and the Delaware County agricultural heritage - from the Maquoketa River's Delaware County corridor (the Maquoketa River and its North Fork flow through Delaware County's rolling terrain - the river's scenic valley provides fishing, canoeing, and wildlife habitat in a productive northeast Iowa agricultural landscape) to Delaware County's significant dairy and hog farming economy and the county's position in the transition zone between Iowa's Driftless Area and the flat glaciated plains to the west.
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Office: Delaware County Emergency Management/Homeland Security – 1225 W. Howard Street, Manchester, IA 52057 | (563) 927-3723; Coordinator Mandy Bieber, [email protected]. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM.
Sheriff: Delaware County Sheriff’s Office – 1225 W. Howard Street, Manchester, IA 52057 | (563) 927-3135 | Email: [email protected]. Serves unincorporated areas and contracts law enforcement to several county cities.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-20 and IA-13 serve Manchester, the county seat, in northeastern Iowa.
Notes: Delaware County is known for livestock production alongside its parks and outdoor recreation.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Delaware County Courthouse – 301 E. Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057 | (563) 927-5561 (911/Rural Addressing).
Notes: Delaware County is genuinely historic ground for Iowa’s outdoors: Backbone State Park, about three miles south of Strawberry Point, is Iowa’s very first state park, dedicated May 28, 1920, after the newly formed State Board of Conservation recommended its purchase in 1918. The park takes its name from a steep, narrow ridge of Silurian-age dolomite bedrock – long nicknamed the “Devil’s Backbone” – carved by a meander loop of the Maquoketa River, forming the highest point in northeast Iowa. Conservationist Thomas Macbride, often called the “father of conservation” in Iowa, was a key advocate for its creation. During the Great Depression, two Civilian Conservation Corps camps built most of the park’s trails, cabins, and buildings between 1933 and 1942 – work now recognized as the Backbone State Park Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places (1991) – including a dam that created Backbone Lake. A CCC museum near the park’s west gate, open seasonally, preserves this history. The park today spans roughly 2,000 acres with 21 miles of trails, rock climbing, and one of Iowa’s best trout streams.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Delaware County Veterans Affairs – Delaware County Courthouse, 301 E. Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Manchester Public Library (Manchester) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Backbone State Park – Iowa’s first and one of its most significant state parks, featuring the Devil’s Backbone rock ridge, Backbone Lake, extensive trails, rock climbing, and a CCC history museum.
Notes: Backbone State Park’s status as Iowa’s founding state park, and its deep Civilian Conservation Corps legacy, are among the most historically significant natural sites covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Delaware County Assessor’s Office – Delaware County Courthouse, 301 E. Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057 | (563) 927-2526.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Delaware County, Iowa animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the City of Manchester’s Animal Control program or the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, (563) 927-3135, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Delaware County Water and Sanitation – confirm current contact via delawarecounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Delaware County is the twenty-eighth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. Backbone State Park’s status as Iowa’s founding state park, and its deep Civilian Conservation Corps legacy, are among the most historically significant natural sites covered anywhere in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Delaware County
Delaware County is northeast Iowa’s Maquoketa River and dairy farming county – the scenic river valley and the county’s productive agricultural economy define a community in the rolling terrain between the Driftless Area and the Iowa plains.
Manchester (the county seat, population ~5,000) is the hub for Delaware County’s dairy, hog, and grain farming communities along the Maquoketa River valley.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Delaware County Assessor at 301 E. Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057, phone 563-927-6927. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Delaware County District Court at 301 E. Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057, phone 563-927-4466, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
301 E. Main St., Manchester, IA 52057
(563) 927-4726
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Delaware County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Delaware County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Delaware County District Court, 1st Judicial District 301 East Main Street, Manchester, IA 52057 (563) 927-4942 Delaware County is in northeastern Iowa, seated in Manchester along the Maquoketa River.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Delaware County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
301 E. Main St., Manchester, IA 52057
(563) 927-3135
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
301 E. Main St., Manchester, IA 52057
(563) 927-4942
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
301 E. Main St., Manchester, IA 52057
(563) 927-4942
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Delaware County Health Dept
(563) 927-3410
Iowa DHHS — Region 1
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Regional Medical Center (Manchester)
regionalmedicalcenter.org (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Delaware County Public Health – confirm current contact via delawarecounty.iowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Manchester
Population: 17,500
Area: 577 sq mi
Established: 1837
Tier: 3
Public Records
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