Jasper County Iowa - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

Jasper County is a county located in the State of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,842. The county seat is Newton. The county was organized in 1846 and is named after Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero.

Jasper County is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metropolitan area.

Notable people from Jasper County
John M. Haines, tenth Governor of Idaho; born in Jasper County.
Lyle Goodhue, chemist and inventor, born in Jasper County.
Sara Haines, American television host and journalist.

William Jasper (circa 1750 – October 9, 1779) was a noted American soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was a sergeant in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment.

Jasper distinguished himself in the defense of Fort Moultrie (then called Fort Sullivan) on June 28, 1776. When a shell from a British warship shot away the flagstaff, he recovered the South Carolina flag in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, raised it on a temporary staff, and held it under fire until a new staff was installed. Governor John Rutledge gave his sword to Jasper in recognition of his bravery.

In 1779, Sergeant Jasper participated in the Siege of Savannah, led by General Lincoln, which failed to recapture Savannah, Georgia, from the British. He was mortally wounded during an assault on the British forces there.

Sgt. Jasper's story is similar to that of Sgt. John Newton. Several states have adjacent counties named Jasper and Newton, as these were remembered as a pair, due to the popularity of Parson Weems' memorializing early American history. Several other states have a Jasper County with a county seat of Newton, or vice versa.

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