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Iowa County
Hardin County, Iowa
Iowa Falls's Scenic City and Ellsworth Community College - from Iowa Falls's Scenic City designation (the Iowa River's dramatic limestone bluffs through Iowa Falls create one of the most scenic small city settings in Iowa - the natural stone amphitheater carved by the river through the limestone terrain gives Iowa Falls a picturesque character that earned it the Scenic City designation) to Ellsworth Community College's Iowa Falls campus and the Iowa River's Hardin County recreation corridor.
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Office: Hardin County Emergency Management – 1031 Edgington Avenue, Eldora, IA 50627. E911 Communications Center dispatches for Ackley, Alden, Buckeye, Eldora, Hubbard, Iowa Falls, New Providence, Radcliffe, Steamboat Rock, Union, and Whitten fire departments.
Sheriff: Hardin County Sheriff’s Office (Law Enforcement Center) – 1116 14th Avenue, Eldora, IA 50627 | (641) 939-8189 | Fax (641) 939-8249 | Toll-free (800) 568-4373 | After-hours fax (641) 939-8209. Completed July 2000; houses the Sheriff’s Office, E911 Communications Center, and Correctional Center. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM (emergency services 24/7).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-20 and US-65 serve Iowa Falls, the county’s largest city, at a regional transportation hub; IA-175 serves Eldora, the county seat.
Notes: Hardin County was formed in 1851, named for Colonel John J. Hardin of Illinois, who died in the Mexican-American War. The county has had three courthouses in its history – the first burned in the 1850s, and the current (third) building stands on Edgington Avenue in Eldora, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hardin County Courthouse – 1215 Edgington Avenue, Eldora, IA.
Notes: Iowa Falls, nicknamed “The Scenic City,” sits along limestone bluffs on the Iowa River; early settlers first named the town “Rocksylvania” for its rocky bluffs and forests before changing it to Iowa Falls due to spelling and pronunciation difficulties. A dam built roughly a century ago flooded the original falls that gave the town its name, creating a small reservoir now used for lake-style recreation; visitors can tour the river aboard the Scenic City Empress riverboat, walk the Historic Swinging Bridge over the Iowa River, and view the restored 1899 Metropolitan Opera House downtown. Iowa Falls is also home to Ellsworth Community College, founded in 1890. The county’s rehabilitated “Slayton Farms Round Barn,” restored through a four-year Hardin County Historic Preservation Commission project, now serves as a heritage-education tourism attraction, and the Native American and Natural History Museum at Calkins Nature Center holds one of central Iowa’s largest collections of Native American artifacts.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hardin County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via hardincountyia.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Eldora Public Library (Eldora) and Iowa Falls Public Library (Iowa Falls) – confirm current addresses/phones via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Pine Lake State Park (near Eldora, offering camping, fishing, canoeing, and hiking around the Greenbelt area), the Iowa River Water Trail (55 miles through Hardin County), the Scenic City Empress riverboat, and the Slayton Farms Round Barn are the county’s premier recreational and heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, well-preserved river-town character of Iowa Falls – its limestone bluffs, restored opera house, and unique Empress riverboat tours – is among the more scenic small-town profiles covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hardin County Assessor’s Office – 1215 Edgington Avenue, Suite 2, Eldora, IA 50627 | (641) 939-8100.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
H.E.A.R.T. (Hardin Eldora Animal Rescue Team) – Eldora, IA | (641) 939-2620. State-licensed, all-volunteer 501(c)(3), no-kill, limited-intake shelter serving the local pound, strays, and owner surrenders; also practices TNR for feral cats. Greenbelt Humane Society – Iowa Falls, IA. No-kill cat shelter serving northern Hardin County.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hardin County Environmental Health – Eldora, IA. Confirm current phone via hardincountyia.gov.
NOTES: Hardin County is the forty-third county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, well-preserved river-town character of Iowa Falls is among the more scenic small-town profiles 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 Hardin County
Hardin County is north-central Iowa’s Scenic City and Iowa River county – Iowa Falls’s limestone bluffs and the Iowa River’s scenic corridor through the county create one of north-central Iowa’s most beautiful natural settings.
Eldora (the county seat, population ~2,700) and Iowa Falls (population ~5,000) serve the county’s agricultural and governmental needs along the Iowa River valley.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hardin County Assessor at 1215 Edgington Avenue, Suite 301, Eldora, IA 50627, phone 641-939-8100. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Hardin County District Court at 1215 Edgington Avenue, Eldora, IA 50627, phone 641-939-8130, 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)
1215 Edgington Ave., Eldora, IA 50627
(641) 939-8190
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hardin County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hardin 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
Hardin County District Court, 2nd Judicial District 1215 Edgington Avenue, Suite 7, Eldora, IA 50627 (641) 858-2328
Hardin County was founded in 1851, named for Colonel John J. Hardin. Its largest city, Iowa Falls, differs from its seat, Eldora. The 1892 Hardin County Courthouse (Romanesque, National Register of Historic Places) anchors the Eldora Downtown Historic District.
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 Hardin 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
1215 Edgington Ave., Eldora, IA 50627
(641) 939-8177
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
1215 Edgington Ave., Eldora, IA 50627
(641) 939-8100
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
1215 Edgington Ave., Eldora, IA 50627
(641) 939-8100
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Hardin County Health Dept
(641) 939-8100
Iowa DHHS — Region 2
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
UnityPoint Health — Iowa Falls
unitypoint.org/iowa-falls (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hardin County Public Health – Eldora, IA. Confirm current phone via hardincountyia.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Eldora
Population: 17,000
Area: 569 sq mi
Established: 1851
Tier: 3
Public Records
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