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Iowa County
Hamilton County, Iowa
Webster City and Boone River valley - from Webster City's Kendall Young Library (one of Iowa's oldest Carnegie libraries, a community landmark since 1901) to Hamilton County's productive Boone River valley agriculture (the Boone River drains Hamilton County's glacially-formed landscape of gently rolling terrain and some of Iowa's most productive corn and soybean farmland in the north-central region).
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Office: Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency – confirm current contact via hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov. Hamilton County and Webster City maintain dedicated Emergency Operations Centers; outdoor warning sirens are in place countywide.
Sheriff: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office – Webster City, IA. Primary law enforcement for unincorporated areas and support to smaller towns without full-time police departments; deputies use “HC-” radio call signs.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-20 and IA-17 serve Webster City, the county seat, along the Boone River in central Iowa (locally known as “Boone River Country”).
Notes: Hamilton County was formed January 8, 1857, named for William W. Hamilton, then-president of the Iowa State Senate. The community that became Webster City was originally platted as “Newcastle” in 1854; state legislator Walter C. Willson, working with John F. Duncombe, drafted the 1857 legislation splitting the oversized Webster County in two, renaming Newcastle “Webster City” (for Daniel Webster) and naming the new county Hamilton at Willson’s suggestion.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hamilton County Courthouse – 2300 Superior Street, Webster City, IA (current building, the third in county history, constructed 1975-76; the first attempted courthouse, begun in 1858, had to be dismantled when the county ran out of construction funds).
Notes: Webster City is the birthplace of MacKinlay Kantor (born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, 1904-1977), an American journalist and novelist who began his writing career as a teenager at the Webster City Daily News (edited by his mother) and went on to publish more than 30 novels. Kantor won the 1956 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Andersonville” (1955), his harrowing novel about the notorious Confederate Civil War prisoner-of-war camp, researched in part through his own World War II experience as a war correspondent covering European air battles and the aftermath of Buchenwald. His earlier novella “Glory for Me” (1945) became the basis for the Academy Award-winning film “The Best Years of Our Lives,” and his 1961 book “Spirit Lake” – an approximately 1,000-page work of Iowa history – chronicled the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre in northwestern Iowa.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hamilton County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Kendall Young Library (Webster City) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Boone River corridor through Webster City and sites connected to MacKinlay Kantor’s literary legacy are among the county’s notable heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine literary significance of MacKinlay Kantor’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Andersonville” and his roots in Webster City are among the standout cultural facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hamilton County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Hamilton County Animal AdvoCATes / The Cat Hut – 1118 2nd Street, PO Box 283, Webster City, IA 50595 | (515) 524-6100 | Email: [email protected]. 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded 2017, focused on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) of community and barn cats, a low-income Cat Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (CatSNAP), and cat/kitten adoptions; The Cat Hut adoption center opened in 2022. Hours: Tue-Fri 1-5 PM, Sat 10 AM-2 PM. Note: this organization serves cats specifically; no separate dog shelter was confirmed for the county.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hamilton County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Hamilton County is the forty-first county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine literary significance of MacKinlay Kantor’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Andersonville” and his roots in Webster City are among the standout cultural facts covered in this project. 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 Hamilton County
Hamilton County is north-central Iowa’s Boone River valley agricultural county – Webster City anchors a largely rural county defined by productive row crop farmland, the winding Boone River corridor, and small communities that support the county’s agricultural economy.
Webster City (the county seat, population ~7,700) serves as Hamilton County’s governmental and commercial center, providing regional services to the surrounding north-central Iowa farm communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hamilton County Assessor at 2300 Superior Street, Webster City, IA 50595, phone 515-832-9551. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Hamilton County District Court at 2300 Superior Street, Webster City, IA 50595, phone 515-832-9604, 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)
2300 Superior St., Webster City, IA 50595
(515) 832-9520
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hamilton County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hamilton 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
Hamilton County District Court, 2nd Judicial District 2300 Superior Street, Suite 9, Webster City, IA 50595 (515) 832-9600 Hamilton County is in central Iowa, seated in Webster City along the Boone 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 Hamilton 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
2300 Superior St., Webster City, IA 50595
(515) 832-4800
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
2300 Superior St., Webster City, IA 50595
(515) 832-9500
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
2300 Superior St., Webster City, IA 50595
(515) 832-9500
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Hamilton County Health Dept
(515) 832-9550
Iowa DHHS — Region 2
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Van Diest Medical Center (Webster City)
vandiestmedical.com (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hamilton County Public Health – confirm current contact via hamiltoncounty.iowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Webster City
Population: 15,500
Area: 577 sq mi
Established: 1856
Tier: 3
Public Records
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