Davis County Iowa, along the Missouri border, was named in 1843 for Garret Davis, a U.S. representative from Kentucky. But if the luck of the draw had gone another way, it would have created historical confusion for generations to come. This is from a history by a Davis County recorder:
“The name Bloomfield was pulled out of a hat. The other choices were Jefferson and Davis.”
So Iowa almost had a city of Jefferson in the county of Davis less than 20 years before the Civil War. At the time, Jefferson Davis was an officer in the U.S. Army, not yet a U.S. representative from Mississippi, secretary of war, or president of the Confederate States of America.
Whichever Davis the county was actually named after, the association surely would have been too strong for residents to bear after 1860, especially with rebels at their doorstep — Davis County was “invaded” by Confederates in 1864 (bottom of page). The name of the county seat would have had to be changed. Lincoln, perhaps?