Cerro Gordo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 44,151. Its county seat is Mason City. The county is named for the Battle of Cerro Gordo, which took place during the Mexican-American War.Cerro Gordo County is part of the Mason City, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryCerro Gordo County was formed in 1851 and takes its name from the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican–American War, where General Winfield Scott defeated the Mexican General Santa Anna on April 18, 1847.In 1851 the first white settlers came into the area of the present county and settled on Clear Lake. Four years later, on August 7, 1855, the first elections were held and the first legal proceedings occurred in 1857. In the summer of the same year, Livonia was chosen as the new county seat. In 1858, the seat was returned to Mason City. In 1866, the first courthouse was erected from stone at the cost of $600, which was used until 1900. The courthouse still used today was opened on November 17, 1960.Cerro Gordo County was the site of the airplane crash north of the city of Clear Lake, in which rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, along with their pilot Roger A. Peterson, were killed on February 3, 1959. The site is located in Grant Township, in the northwestern part of the county.
