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Office: Van Buren County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via vanburencounty.iowa.gov.
Sheriff: Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office (Law Center) – 907 Broad Street, PO Box 474, Keosauqua, IA 52565 | (319) 293-3426 | Fax (319) 293-7114 | Text & Tip Line (319) 931-3973 | Email: [email protected]. 5 officers serving roughly 8,000 residents; dispatch/emergency 24/7.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: IA-1 and IA-2 serve Keosauqua, the county seat, in southeastern Iowa along the Des Moines River.
Notes: Van Buren County was formed December 7, 1836, as part of Wisconsin Territory, split off from Des Moines County and named for President Martin Van Buren. Keosauqua’s unusual name derives from a Sac and Fox word, roughly pronounced “key-oh-suh-hock-whuh,” whose exact meaning is debated (possibly “land of the monks” or similar). The county seat question passed through several proposed sites – Rochester was briefly approved in 1838 before pressure from the territorial governor led legislators to reverse course and select Keosauqua the very next day.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Van Buren County Courthouse – 904 4th Street / 406 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA (built 1840-1843, Greek Revival, built by James Hall, John Fairman, and completed by Edwin Manning; National Register of Historic Places since 1977). This is the only courthouse building Van Buren County has ever used – making it the oldest continuously operating courthouse in Iowa, and the second-oldest in the entire United States. It was one of the largest buildings west of the Mississippi River at the time of its completion.
Notes: Van Buren County is the site of Iowa’s genuinely colorful “Honey War” of the 1830s-40s, a border dispute between Missouri and the Wisconsin/Iowa Territory along the old 1816 Sullivan Line. When Missouri attempted to tax Iowa-side residents, the Van Buren County sheriff arrested and jailed a Missouri sheriff, and Missourians were charged with “stealing honey from bee trees” in what is now Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. Both governors mobilized militia, but the dispute was resolved without bloodshed through Congressional arbitration, ultimately favoring Iowa’s boundary claim when Iowa became a state in 1846. The county is also home to the “Villages of Van Buren,” eleven historic river villages (including Bentonsport, a National Historic District, and Keosauqua’s Hotel Manning, built by courthouse-builder Edwin Manning) preserving mid-1800s architecture along the Des Moines River. Van Buren County also hosts the state’s oldest continuously operating community theater group, the Van Buren Players, founded 1963.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Van Buren County Veterans Affairs – Courthouse Annex, 404 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Keosauqua Public Library (Keosauqua) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Villages of Van Buren (11 historic river towns), Lacey-Keosauqua State Park (Honey War site), Lake Sugema (Iowa’s premier fishing lake), and Hotel Manning are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, colorful “Honey War” episode and Iowa’s oldest continuously operating courthouse are among the standout local histories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Van Buren County Assessor’s Office – Courthouse, 406 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Van Buren County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, (319) 293-3426, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Van Buren County Sanitarian – Courthouse Annex, 404 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.
NOTES: Van Buren County is the ninety-fourth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, colorful “Honey War” episode and Iowa’s oldest continuously operating courthouse are among the standout local histories 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 Van Buren County County
Van Buren County is southeast Iowa’s Des Moines River horseshoe bend and Lacey-Keosauqua State Park county – Iowa’s largest state park on the sweeping river bend and the Amish farming communities in the rolling creek valleys define a county of exceptional rural beauty and traditional agricultural character near the Missouri border.
Keosauqua (the county seat, population ~800) is Van Buren County’s governmental hub on the Des Moines River, a small southeast Iowa river community whose state park setting, Amish heritage, and historic river crossing anchor its identity.
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Van Buren County Assessor at 406 Main Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565, phone 319-293-3001. IA assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Van Buren County District Court at 406 Main Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565, phone 319-293-3116, 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)
406 Main St., Keosauqua, IA 52565
(319) 293-3129
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Van Buren County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Van Buren County Recorder’s office holds real estate records dating back to 1837 and marriage records dating back to 1837, a valuable local genealogical resource.
The historic Van Buren County Courthouse, Iowa’s oldest in continuous use, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Van Buren 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
Van Buren County District Court, 8th Judicial District 406 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565 (319) 293-3108
Van Buren County was established December 7, 1836, named for President Martin Van Buren. The 1843 Van Buren County Courthouse (Greek Revival, National Register of Historic Places) is the oldest courthouse in Iowa still in continuous use and one of the oldest in the nation; in 1845 it was the site of Iowa’s first legal death sentencing.
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 Van Buren 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
406 Main St., Keosauqua, IA 52565
(319) 293-3426
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
406 Main St., Keosauqua, IA 52565
(319) 293-3129
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
406 Main St., Keosauqua, IA 52565
(319) 293-3129
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Van Buren County Public Health – Courthouse Annex, 404 Dodge Street, Keosauqua, IA 52565.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Keosauqua
Population: 6,900
Area: 487 sq mi
Established: 1837
Public Records
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