Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,485. The county seat is Maquoketa.

History

The county was formed on December 21, 1837, and named after US President Andrew Jackson. In the early morning of July 22, 2022, an assailant killed three members of a family at the campground of Maquoketa Caves State Park, located in the county. The assailant, identified as 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin of Nebraska, later committed suicide.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water. Its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States highway in the central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows ...

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

U.S. Highway 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

Iowa Highway 62 Iowa Highway 62 (Iowa 62) is a state highway in eastern Iowa. The highway begins in Maquoketa at Iowa 64, goes through Andrew, and ends in Bellevue at U.S. Highway 52 a few yards (meters) from the Mississippi River. The route has been o ...

Iowa Highway 64 Iowa Highway 64 (Iowa 64) is a state highway that runs through two counties in east central Iowa. It begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 151 (US 151) in Anamosa and ends at the Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Miss ...

Adjacent counties

Dubuque County Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...

(north) *

Jo Daviess County Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 22,678. Its county seat is Galena. Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and is located near ...

, Illinois (northeast) * Carroll County, Illinois (east) * Clinton County (south) * Jones County (west)

National protected areas

* Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (part)

State protected areas

* Maquoketa Caves State Park * Bellevue State Park

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 19,485 in the county, with a population density of . 97.42% of the population reported being of one race. 93.53% were non-Hispanic White, 0.78% were Black, 1.22% were Hispanic, 0.22% were Native American, 0.24% were Asian, 0.99% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.03% were some other race or more than one race. There were 9,241 housing units, of which 8,305 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 19,848 in the county, with a population density of . There were 9,415 housing units, of which 8,289 were occupied.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,296 people, 8,078 households, and 5,589 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 8,949 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.96% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,078 households, out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.00% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,529, and the median income for a family was $42,526. Males had a median income of $29,334 versus $20,577 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,329. About 7.70% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.90% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.

Government

the three-member Jackson County Board of Supervisors is Larry McDevitt, Mike Steines, and Jack Willey. Their Executive Assistant is LuAnn Goeke.

Sheriff's office

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is the primary

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

located in the county. The headquarters for the Sheriff's Department are in Maquoketa, Iowa. The department is led by an elected

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. The Sheriff is Brent Kilburg.

Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services

Fire protection in the county is left up to the discretion of the cities within the county. The towns of Maquoketa, Preston, Miles, Springbrook, Sabula, Baldwin, Bellevue, Andrew and La Motte all have their own fire departments providing protection for the whole county. Most city fire departments also provide rescue services. Fire equipment usually consists of Engines, Tankers and brush trucks as well as most fire departments owning a Rescue truck. The Maquoketa Fire department also owns a Ladder truck. Most firefighters certify as Iowa Firefighter One and HAZMAT Operations and some also are certified as EMTs. The towns of Maquoketa, Preston, Sabula and Bellevue also have their own Ambulance Services which provide coverage for the county while towns not having ambulances have First Responder units and contract ambulance response to a nearby community. All firefighters in Jackson County are volunteers and most EMS personnel are also volunteers however the Maquoketa Ambulance Service is a paid service. All Jackson County departments are members of the Jackson County Firefighters Association and the Iowa Firefighters Association. Mutual Aid Agreements from surrounding Iowa counties as well as the state of Illinois are in place to provide additional help during emergencies which tax the county emergency resources beyond their limits.

Townships

Jackson County is divided into 18 townships, administrative subdivisions of the county: * Bellevue * Brandon *

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

* Fairfield * Farmers Creek * Iowa * Jackson * Maquoketa *

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

* Otter Creek * Perry * Prairie Springs * Richland * South Fork * Tete Des Morts * Union *

Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

* Washington

Hospital

Jackson County has one Hospital in Maquoketa, the Jackson County Regional Health Center. the hospital is under the administration of

Genesis Healthcare Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

. Patients near Maquoketa are transported to this hospital, while patients closer to Clinton County will most likely be taken to Mercy Medical Center in Clinton, Iowa. Some patients closer to

are taken to Mercy or Finley Hospitals, both in the city of Dubuque.

Election results

Prior to 1988, Jackson County was a Republican-leaning swing county, only failing to back the national winner six times between 1880 & 1984. The county was reliably Democratic from 1988 to 2012, but swung by 18% to back Donald Trump in 2016. In 2020 Donald Trump carried Jackson County with 62% of the vote over Joseph Biden 36%.https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2020/general/canvsummary.pdf

Communities

Incorporated communities

Unincorporated communities

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

‡ * Cottonville * Emeline * Garryowen * Green Island *

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

* Otter Creek * South Garry Owen

Former communities

*Alma *Amoy *America *Bridgeport *Brookfield *Buckhorn *Canton *Carrollport *Centerville *Charleston *Charkstown *Cobb *Coloma *Copper Creek *Cottonville *Crabb *Crabb's Mill *Crabbtown *Deventersville *Duggan *Duke *Fremont *Fulton *Gordon's Ferry *Hickory Grove *Higginsport *Hugo *Hurstville *Fairfield *Farmers Creek *Franklin *Iron Hill *East Iron Hills *Isabel *Lowell *Millrock *Mount Algor *Nashville *New Castle *New Rochester *North Maquoketa *Otter Creek *Ozark *Pass *Prairie Springs *Rolley *Silsbee *Smiths Ferry *Springfield *Spruce Mills *Sterling *Sullivan *Summer Hill *Sylva *Tetes des Morts *Union Center *Van Buren *Wagonersburgh *Waterford *Wickliffe

Bibliography

* Sorensen, Lucille. Holihan, Grace. ''Ghost Towns of Jackson County Iowa/History of Jackson County, Vol. 1'', Jackson County Historical Society 1988 and 2000.

References

External links

Official Jackson County Government WebsiteJackson County Economic Development Council's websiteJackson County Government Overview WebpagesJackson County Historical Society
{{authority control 1837 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1837 Iowa counties on the Mississippi River