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Iowa County
Tama County, Iowa
The Meskwaki Settlement - Iowa's only Native American tribal lands - from the Meskwaki Nation's unique land purchase (the Meskwaki - the Fox people - were removed from Iowa in 1842 but refused to permanently leave their homeland, and in 1856 they used their own money to purchase 80 acres back from the state of Iowa - the only instance of a Native American tribe purchasing their homeland rather than receiving it as a reservation - the settlement has grown to over 8,000 acres and supports the Meskwaki Nation's governmental, cultural, and economic institutions including the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel).
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Office: Tama County 911 Communications/Emergency Management – confirm current contact via tamacounty.iowa.gov.
Sheriff: Tama County Sheriff’s Office – (641) 484-3760.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. The Meskwaki Nation, within Tama County, maintains its own tribal police and court system as a sovereign nation, separate from county law enforcement.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-30 (the historic Lincoln Highway) and IA-21 serve Toledo, the county seat. The city of Tama holds the nation’s only surviving original 1915 Lincoln Highway bridge with its lettering still inscribed in the railings – the Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental U.S. highway, running New York to California.
Notes: Tama County was formed in 1843, named for Chief Taimah (also spelled Tama), a 19th-century Meskwaki leader whose name roughly translates to “man who makes rocks tremble” or “the thunder that makes the earth tremble.”
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Tama County Courthouse – Toledo, IA (courthouse completed 1865). The former 1870 Tama County Jail (Broadway and State Streets, Toledo), now the Tama County Historical Museum, is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places – the sheriff and his family once lived on its second floor as jailers, and it operated until 1970.
Notes: Tama County holds one of the most historically significant Native American stories covered anywhere in this project. It is home to the Meskwaki Settlement, land of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa – one of only three federally recognized Sac and Fox tribal groups in the U.S. (the others in Oklahoma and Kansas), and the only substantial Native American tribal community based in Iowa. After resisting federal Indian removal efforts and initially being barred from land ownership under Iowa law, the Meskwaki secured passage of an 1856 Iowa law permitting them to buy land in Tama County; they formally purchased their first 80 acres on July 13, 1857, with the Iowa governor acting as legal trustee, giving the tribe federal identity as the “Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.” Crucially, the Meskwaki Settlement is not a federal reservation – it is private property purchased by the tribe itself, making it a genuinely unique arrangement among Native nations. The tribe eventually acquired more than 8,000 acres across Tama, Marshall, and Palo Alto counties and maintains its own laws, constitution, police, and court system today. The annual August Meskwaki Powwow celebrates the first corn harvest with traditional food, songs, dance, and arts.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Tama County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via tamacounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Toledo Public Library (Toledo) and Tama Public Library (Tama) – confirm current addresses/phones via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Meskwaki Settlement and annual Powwow, the historic 1915 Lincoln Highway bridge in Tama, and the Tama County Historical Museum (former county jail) are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, historically remarkable story of the Meskwaki Nation purchasing and privately owning its own homeland – rather than living on a federally designated reservation – is among the most significant Native American histories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Tama County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via tamacounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Tama County Humane Society – 1406 E. 5th Street, Tama, IA 52339 | (641) 481-7001 | Email: [email protected].
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Tama County Sanitarian – confirm current contact via tamacounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Tama County is the ninety-first county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, historically remarkable story of the Meskwaki Nation purchasing and privately owning its own homeland is among the most significant Native American histories covered anywhere 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 Tama County
Tama County is home to the Meskwaki Settlement – the only Native American land in Iowa purchased by the tribe itself in 1856, in the only instance of a Native American people buying back their own homeland rather than receiving a federal reservation.
Tama (population ~2,800) is the gateway to the Meskwaki Settlement – the Meskwaki Nation’s casino, cultural center, and annual powwow draw visitors to the central Iowa community.
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Tama County Assessor at 104 W. State Street, Suite 1, Toledo, IA 52342, phone 641-484-3640. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Tama County District Court at 104 W. State Street, Toledo, IA 52342, phone 641-484-3721, 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)
100 W. High St., Toledo, IA 52342
(641) 484-3721
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Tama County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Meskwaki Settlement within the county is a significant local resource for Meskwaki Nation genealogical and cultural history.
Local societies
No dedicated Tama 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
Tama County District Court, 6th Judicial District 100 West High Street, Toledo, IA 52342 (641) 484-3721
Tama County was founded February 17, 1843, named for Meskwaki leader Taimah. The 1866 Tama County Courthouse (Romanesque, National Register of Historic Places) is the county’s second. The Meskwaki Settlement, one of the few tribal land holdings in the U.S. owned outright by a Native American nation, lies within the county.
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 Tama 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
100 W. High St., Toledo, IA 52342
(641) 484-2500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
100 W. High St., Toledo, IA 52342
(641) 484-3141
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
100 W. High St., Toledo, IA 52342
(641) 484-3141
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
meskwaki.org/health (tribal health services for Meskwaki Nation members)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Tama County Public Health – confirm current contact via tamacounty.iowa.gov.
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