Cass 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 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 13,127. Its

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 ...

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. It was named to honor Lewis Cass, who was the 1848 Democratic nominee for president.

History

Cass County is named in honor of Lewis Cass, a

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the presidency in 1848. The county was established within its present boundaries in 1851 and originated in 1853.

Religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

was responsible for bringing the first people of European ancestry to Cass County. The

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

, fleeing from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, were the earliest settlers, and established a community at Indiantown in 1846. At Indiantown, two of the three commissioners selected to locate a

were chosen. The site they chose was from Indiantown and named Lewis. Most of the people and businesses in Indian Town moved to Lewis shortly after it was laid out. In 1856, a frame courthouse was built, and eight years later a small stone building was completed for the county treasurer's office. In 1857, there was an attempt to relocate the county seat to Grove City; it was unsuccessful. On October 20, 1869, after a due canvass of the vote on the re-location of the county seat, the Board declared the city of

the county seat and ordered the county officers to that place. In 1872, the first courthouse built in Atlantic was completed. Until it was completed county offices were held in various empty buildings. Ten years later the county built its second courthouse at Atlantic. The $65,000 building was destroyed by a fire in 1932. The fire started in the clock tower and gutted all of the second floor. Most of the county records and equipment were saved. The present, fourth, courthouse was completed in 1934. While it was being built, county offices were located in the Atlantic Motors building, where an attempted robbery of the treasurer's safe took place. The robbers were interrupted and escaped, but without any money. The final cost of the fourth courthouse was $130,000: $65,000 came from a county bond issue, $46,500 from insurance and the remaining was covered by a

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

federal grant. The concrete and brick building is three stories high. It was dedicated on December 26, 1934, with the main speaker being the Governor of Iowa, Clyde L. Herring. The Board of Supervisors approved a new jail addition, which was dedicated in 1984.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 80 * US 6

U.S. Highway 6 * US 71

U.S. Highway 71 * Elongated circle 48

Iowa Highway 48 * Elongated circle 83

Iowa Highway 83 * Elongated circle 92

Iowa Highway 92 * Elongated circle 148

Iowa Highway 148 * Elongated circle 173

Iowa Highway 173

Transit

Adjacent counties

* Audubon County (north) * Adair County (east) * Adams County (southeast) * Montgomery County (southwest) * Pottawattamie County (west) * Shelby County (northwest)

Other Geographical notes

Due to its proximity to Cass County, Nebraska, and because both of those counties receive most of their broadcasts from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, references to 'Cass County' must be frequently disambiguated, or result in confusion.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 13,127 in the county, with a population density of . 96.75% of the population reported being of one race. 92.23% were non-Hispanic White, 0.22% were Black, 2.33% were Hispanic, 0.19% were Native American, 0.27% were Asian, 0.59% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.17% were some other race or more than one race. There were 6,398 housing units of which 5,818 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 13,956 in the county, with a population density of . There were 6,591 housing units, of which 5,980 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 14,684 people, 6,120 households, and 4,094 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 6,590 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.84%

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 ...

, 0.21%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.31% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. 0.69% 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 6,120 households, out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% 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, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,922, and the median income for a family was $40,564. Males had a median income of $29,736 versus $20,108 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 $17,067. About 7.20% of families and 11.10% 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 14.40% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Edwin Perkins, inventor of Kool-Aid * Ed Podolak, a former running back for Kansas City Chiefs * Earl Caddock, a champion amateur and pro wrestler of the 1910s and early 1920s. * Steve H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, adviser to presidents, currency reformer, and commodity and currency trader

Communities

Cities

* Anita *

* Cumberland * Griswold * Lewis * Marne * Massena * Wiota

Townships

Cass County is divided into sixteen townships: * Bear Grove * Benton *

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

* Edna * Franklin * Grant * Grove * Lincoln * Massena * Noble * Pleasant * Pymosa * Union * Victoria * Washington

Population ranking

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

Politics

Cass County has historically been one of the most solidly Republican counties in Iowa. The only Democrat ever to win the county was

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 his 1932 landslide, taking the county by less than 2%. Despite Roosevelt winning by an even larger landslide nationally just four years later, he lost Cass County by more than 13%.

References

External links

County website
{{Coord, 41, 19, 46, N, 94, 55, 45, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Populated places established in 1851