Grundy 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 ...

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 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,329. 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 Grundy Center. The county is named for

Felix Grundy Felix Grundy (September 11, 1777 – December 19, 1840) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 13th United States Attorney General. He also had served several terms as a congressman and as a U.S. senator from Tennessee. He ...

, former

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

. Grundy County is included in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area.

History

Grundy County was formed on January 15, 1851, and became self-governing in 1856. It was named after

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, a statesman, Senator, member of the House of Representatives and Attorney General under President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

. The first courthouse was built in 1861. The wooden, two-story building contained a courtroom, but was used for other purposes, including housing the office of the sheriff, county treasurer, the judge, as well as a chamber for the jury. The cornerstone for a second courthouse was laid on November 11, 1891.

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 (0.01%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 20 * Elongated circle 14

Iowa Highway 14 * Elongated circle 57

Iowa Highway 57 * Elongated circle 175

Iowa Highway 175

Adjacent counties

* Butler County (north) * Black Hawk County (east) * Tama County (southeast) * Marshall County (southwest) * Hardin County (west) * Franklin County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 12,329 in the county, with a population density of . 96.97% of the population reported being of one race. 94.83% were non-Hispanic White, 0.40% were Black, 1.18% were Hispanic, 0.08% were Native American, 0.19% were Asian, 0.00% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.33% were some other race or more than one race. There were 5,465 housing units, of which 5,069 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 12,453 in the county, with a population density of . There were 5,530 housing units, of which 5,131 were occupied.

2000 census

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 12,369 people, 4,984 households and 3,583 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,304 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.97%

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 ...

, 0.08%

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 ...

, 0.02% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 0.58% 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 4,984 households, of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.80% 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, 5.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94. 25.20% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 19.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $39,396,] and the median family income was $46,627. Males had a median income of $32,006 and females $22,003. 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 ...

was $19,142. About 3.30% of families and 4.60% 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 4.60% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Beaman * Conrad * Dike * Grundy Center *

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

* Reinbeck *

Stout Stout is a type of dark beer that is generally warm fermented, such as dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout and imperial stout. Stout is a type of ale. The first known use of the word "stout" for beer is in a document dated 1677 in the E ...

* Wellsburg

Townships

* Beaver Township * Black Hawk Township * Clay Township * Colfax Township * Fairfield Township * Felix Township * German Township * Grant Township * Lincoln Township * Melrose Township * Palermo Township * Pleasant Valley Township * Shiloh Township *Washington Township

Population ranking

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

Politics

Grundy County has long been one of the most consistently Republican counties in Iowa. The county has only voted for a candidate of a different party four times since the county was founded in 1851. The first occasion was in 1912, when former Republican

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 ...

won the county as the Progressive candidate. During his two landslide victories of 1932 and 1936,

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 ...

became the first Democrat to win Grundy County in its history. The final time a non-Republican candidate carried the county was in 1964, when

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 ...

won in a nationwide landslide. No Democratic candidate has ever received more than 60% of the vote in the county, and in the last twenty-one elections (beginning in 1944), the Republican obtained at least 60% of the vote in sixteen of them, and the Republicans have hit at least 65% in ten of the twenty-one elections in that span.

References

External links

Grundy County, Iowa
Official website {{Coord, 42, 24, 06, N, 92, 47, 15, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1851 establishments in Iowa Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area Populated places established in 1851