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Iowa County
Franklin County, Iowa
Hampton and Iowa River valley agriculture - from Hampton's role as the governmental and commercial hub of north-central Iowa's Franklin County to the Iowa River corridor running through the county (the Iowa River's upper reaches pass through Franklin County's productive agricultural landscape, providing drainage for some of north Iowa's most consistently productive corn and soybean farmland across the county's flat to gently rolling glacial terrain).
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Office: Franklin County Emergency Management – Law Enforcement Center, 105 5th Street SW, PO Box 57, Hampton, IA 50441 | (641) 456-6032 | Fax (641) 456-6037; Coordinator Joel McWilliams.
Sheriff: Franklin County Sheriff’s Office – 105 5th Street SW (also cited as 12 1st Avenue NW), PO Box 57, Hampton, IA 50441 | Non-emergency 24-hr (641) 456-2731 | Administrative (641) 456-6035 | Fax (641) 456-2216; Sheriff Aaron Dodd. By contract, primary law enforcement for the unincorporated county plus Alexander, Coulter, Dows, Geneva, Hansell, Latimer, and Popejoy. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-65 and IA-3 serve Hampton, the county seat, in north-central Iowa.
Notes: Franklin County’s history is documented back to its 1850s organization.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Franklin County Courthouse – Hampton, IA (part of the Hampton Double Square Historic District).
Notes: Hampton is home to two genuinely notable historic structures. The Franklin County G.A.R. Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, an octagonal Gothic Revival building designed by Edward Carl Keifer and completed in 1890, is reported to be the only building constructed specifically to honor Civil War soldiers west of the Mississippi River (comparable Civil War memorial buildings otherwise exist only in Massachusetts). It served as the meeting place of the J.W. McKenzie Post No. 81 of the Grand Army of the Republic (one of 519 such posts once active in Iowa) and honors the 44 Franklin County men, out of 169 who enlisted for the Union, who died in the Civil War; it’s topped by a zinc “Union Soldier on Guard” statue and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1991). Separately, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail (built 1880, Italianate style, National Register since 1996) represents the common 19th-century Iowa model of combining the sheriff’s family home with the county jail – the sheriff’s wife traditionally handled meals and laundry for prisoners housed in an attached cell block; the sheriff continued living there into the 1960s, and it functioned as a jail until 1988.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Franklin County Veterans Affairs – arranges G.A.R. Memorial Hall visits by appointment | (641) 456-5670. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-noon.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hampton Public Library (Hampton) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The G.A.R. Soldiers’ Memorial Hall and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail, both within the Hampton Double Square Historic District, are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, documented status of the G.A.R. Memorial Hall as the only Civil War memorial building west of the Mississippi River is among the most distinctive historical claims covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Franklin County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via franklincountyia.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Franklin County, Iowa animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, (641) 456-2731, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Franklin County Environmental Health & Sanitation – confirm current contact via franklincountyia.gov.
NOTES: Franklin County is the thirty-sixth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, documented status of the G.A.R. Memorial Hall as the only Civil War memorial building west of the Mississippi River is among the most distinctive historical claims covered 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 Franklin County
Franklin County is north-central Iowa’s Iowa River headwaters agricultural county – Hampton anchors a productive farming county whose flat terrain delivers strong corn and soybean yields while the Iowa River corridor adds natural character to a county defined by its agricultural economy and rural small-town character.
Hampton (the county seat, population ~4,300) is Franklin County’s governmental and commercial hub, providing regional services to the county’s farm communities in north-central Iowa between Mason City and Ames.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Franklin County Assessor at 12 1st Avenue NW, Hampton, IA 50441, phone 641-456-4391. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Franklin County District Court at 12 1st Avenue NW, Hampton, IA 50441, phone 641-456-4739, 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)
12 1st Ave. NW, Hampton, IA 50441
(641) 456-5626
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Franklin County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Franklin 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
Franklin County District Court, 2nd Judicial District 12 1st Avenue NW, Hampton, IA 50441 (641) 456-5626 Franklin County is a small, rural county in north-central Iowa.
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 Franklin 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
12 1st Ave. NW, Hampton, IA 50441
(641) 456-5679
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
12 1st Ave. NW, Hampton, IA 50441
(641) 456-5622
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
12 1st Ave. NW, Hampton, IA 50441
(641) 456-5622
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Franklin County Public Health / Home Care Services – confirm current contact via franklincountyia.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hampton
Population: 10,500
Area: 582 sq mi
Established: 1851
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Franklin County residents.
