Monona 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,751. 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 Onawa.

History

The area around present-day Onawa was a stopping point in 1804 for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their

exploration Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

of the newly obtained

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

. Many years later, that site was memorialized as the Lewis and Clark State Park. Monona County was formed in 1851. It was perhaps named for an Indian word meaning "beautiful valley." Monona County was organized officially in the spring of 1854 having been a part of Benton County (every county west of Benton in a line) in 1851 and afterwards Harrison County between 1852 and 1854. When Ashton (originally called Bloomfield) was named the

in the fall of 1854, a log house served as the first courthouse. Ashton remained the county seat for only four years. That designation was moved to Onawa on April 5, 1858, and the first Monona County Courthouse was completed that same year.

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 ...

Iowa Highway 37 * Elongated circle 141

Iowa Highway 141 Iowa Highway 141 (Iowa 141) is an east–west highway in the western and central portions of the state. It is the most direct link between Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux City and Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines. It also serves as an limited-access r ...

Iowa Highway 175 Iowa Highway 175 (Iowa 175) is a main east–west route in the northern portion of the state. The highway has a length of . Iowa Highway 175 enters the state by a Missouri River crossing between Decatur, Nebraska and Onawa. The highway c ...

Iowa Highway 183

Adjacent counties

* Woodbury County (north) *

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

(east) * Harrison County (south) * Burt County, Nebraska (southwest) *

Thurston County, Nebraska Thurston County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 6,773. Its county seat is Pender. In the Nebraska license plate system, Thurston County is represented by ...

(west)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 8,751 in the county, with a population density of . 96.03% of the population reported being of one race. 90.33% were non-Hispanic White, 0.32% were Black, 2.70% were Hispanic, 1.67% were Native American, 0.32% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.64% were some other race or more than one race. There were 4,373 housing units, of which 3,839 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,243 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,697 housing units, of which 4,050 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 10,020 people, 4,211 households, and 2,737 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 4,660 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.34% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,211 households, out of which 26.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% 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, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.00% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 23.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,235, and the median income for a family was $41,172. Males had a median income of $27,349 versus $19,607 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 $17,477. About 6.60% of families and 9.40% 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 8.90% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

* Blencoe * Castana * Mapleton * Moorhead * Onawa * Rodney *

Soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

* Whiting

Unincorporated communities

Ticonic

Townships

* Ashton * Belvidere * Center * Cooper * Fairview * Franklin * Grant *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

* Kennebec *

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

* Lincoln *

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

* St. Clair * Sherman *

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

* Spring Valley * West Fork *

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Population ranking

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

Politics

For over a century, Monona County was close to a national bellwether. Between 1900 & 2004, it only failed to back the national winner in 1960 & 1988. However, this bellwether status no longer applies.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

failed to carry the county in both of his electoral victories statewide & nationally, while

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in 2020 earned the highest percentage of any candidate since

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, in spite of his unsuccessful reelection bid.

References

External links

Discover Monona County
Portal style website, The Communities, Recreation and more
Monona County website
{{Coord, 42, 02, 50, N, 95, 58, 07, 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