Mills County, Iowa
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Mills County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,484. The
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is Glenwood. The county was formed in 1851 and named for Major Frederick Mills of
Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000 United States Census, 2000. Burlington ...
, who was killed at the
Battle of Churubusco The Battle of Churubusco took place on August 20, 1847, while Santa Anna's army was in retreat from the Battle of Contreras or Battle of Padierna during the Mexican–American War. It was the battle where the San Patricio Battalion, made u ...
during the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. Mills County is included in the
Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area The Omaha metropolitan area, officially known as the Omaha, NE–IA, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is an urbanized, bi-state metro region in Nebraska and Iowa in the American Midwest, centered on the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The region con ...
.


History

The future county's first permanent settlement was Rushville, founded in 1846 by persecuted members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
as they were being driven out of
Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...
. This is not to be confused with the state's present-day Rushville in Jasper County. A nearby settlement, also founded by the Mormon settlers, was called Coonsville after Dr. Liberius Coons, one of the first arrivals. That settlement continued after the Mormons moved on; its name was changed to Glenwood in 1853. In Glenwood, the first courthouse was a small frame building which served until 1857. It was replaced by a two-story building, which was enlarged in the 1900s and received a clock tower in 1910. In 1959 this building was replaced with the present building, dedicated on August 29, 1959.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water.


Major highways

*
Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...
* U.S. Highway 34 * U.S. Highway 59 * U.S. Highway 275


Adjacent counties

*
Pottawattamie County, Iowa Pottawattamie County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. At the 2020 census, the population was 93,667, making it the tenth-most populous county in Iowa. The county takes its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe. The cou ...
(north) * Montgomery County, Iowa (east) *
Fremont County, Iowa Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 6,605, making it the state's seventh-least populous county. The county seat is Sidney. The county was formed in 1847 and named for the mil ...
(south) *
Cass County, Nebraska Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 26,598. Its county seat and largest city is Plattsmouth. The county was formed in 1855, and was named for General Lewis Cass, an Ame ...
(southwest) *
Sarpy County, Nebraska Sarpy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,604, making it the third-most populous county in Nebraska. Its county seat is Papillion. Sarpy County is part of the Omaha-Council ...
(west)


Demographics


2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 14,484 in the county, with a population density of . 95.16% of the population reported being of one race. 90.05% were non-Hispanic White, 0.53% were Black, 3.18% were Hispanic, 0.21% were Native American, 0.33% were Asian, 0.07% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 5.63% were some other race or more than one race. There were 6,110 housing units, of which 5,512 were occupied.


2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 15,059 in the county, with a population density of . There were 6,109 housing units, of which 5,605 were occupied.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 14,547 people, 5,324 households, and 3,939 families residing in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.97%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.28%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.27% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.36% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. There were 5,324 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were non-families. 22.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,428, and the median income for a family was $49,592. Males had a median income of $31,721 versus $24,938 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $18,736. About 5.80% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 10.30% of those under age 18 and 7.60% of those age 65 or over.


Communities


Cities

* Emerson * Glenwood *
Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
* Henderson * Malvern * Pacific Junction * Silver City * Tabor (partial)


Unincorporated communities

* Rushville


Census-designated place

* Mineola


Townships

* Anderson * Center * Deer Creek * Glenwood * Indian Creek * Ingraham *
Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
*
Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
* Plattville * Rawles * St. Marys * Silver Creek * White Cloud


Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Mills County. † ''county seat''


Law enforcement

The first Mills County Sheriff was W.W. Noyes who was appointed by the Iowa General Assembly on August 1, 1851. He was succeeded by James Hardy who served as the first elected sheriff of the county and assumed the office on August 31, 1851. The current sheriff of Mills County is interim sheriff Joshua England. He and his 11 full-time deputies patrol approximately 447 square miles in the county. The Mills County Sheriff's Office provides police services under contract for all of the towns and cities and Mills County except for the City of Glenwood which has its own police department.


Politics

Mills County is one of the most consistently Republican counties in Iowa. It has backed the Republican in all but five elections in its history, its inaugural election in 1852 prior to the founding of the Republican Party, in 1912 when former Republican turned Progressive
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
caused a split in the vote, allowing Democrat
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
to take the county with a sub-40% plurality, in the two landslide victories for
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
in 1932 and 1936, and for
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
in his 1964 landslide, who even then barely took Mills County by only 39 votes and less than 1%.


Local government


Board of supervisors

The board of supervisors is elected according to Plan One of the 1984 Code of Iowa, Chapter 331.208. It is composed of three members elected at large. Vacancies in the board of supervisors are filled by appointment made by the county auditor, county recorder, and the clerk of district court.


Current board of supervisors

* Richard Crouch, board chair ** Term expires 2026 * Carol Vinton, vice chair ** Term expires 2024 * Lonnie Mayberry, board member ** Term expires 2024


2024 election

There are two open seats on the Mills County Board of Supervisors that will be elected in the November 2024 General Election. Primary Vote Count


County attorney

DeShawne Bird-Sell is the current Mills County, IA county attorney. Their term ends in 2026.


County auditor

Ami Petersen is the current Mills County, IA county auditor. Their term ends in 2024


2024 election


County recorder

Lu Anne Christiansen is the current Mills County, IA county reporter. Their term ends in 2026.


County sheriff

Josh England is the current Mills County, IA sheriff. Their term ends in 2024.


2024 election


County treasurer

Jill Ford is the current Mills County, IA county treasurer. Their term ends in 2026.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Mills County, Iowa


References


External links


Official Mills County Government website

Mills County Conservation Board website

Mills County Public Health website

Official Twitter Page
{{Coord, 41, 01, 59, N, 95, 37, 08, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Iowa counties on the Missouri River Populated places established in 1851