Washington 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 22,565. 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 ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Washington County is included in the

Iowa City metropolitan area The Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Iowa anchored by the city of Iowa City. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had a population of 182,711 peo ...

History

Washington County was originally formed in 1838 as Slaughter County in honor of William B. Slaughter, the secretary of

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

. The county, still named Slaughter County, became part of

Iowa Territory The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remai ...

on July 4, 1838, when it was organized. To honor

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, the county opted to change its name on January 25, 1839. The first

White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...

colonizers arrived in Washington County in 1835, and began establishing individual domiciles in 1836. A settlement, Astoria, was built in the present township of Oregon; it became the first county seat and housed the first court house. The county seat was moved to the city of Washington in 1839. The first religious society, organized by Reverend J.L. Kirkpatrick, a Methodist minister was created in 1839. The first newspaper was established in 1853; it was published for two years. In 1856 another newspaper started up; it has continued to the present.An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875
Archive.org. Retrieved September 5, 2013. The major waterways through Washington County are the

Skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

and English Rivers, and Crooked Creek. Timber is found in abundance around these waterways, which has allowed a timber industry to grow up. In 1855 Washington hosted the county's first bank. The county population swelled after 1858, when a railway line belonging to the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was laid there.

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 (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles ...

Iowa Highway 1 Iowa Highway 1 (Iowa 1) is a state highway (Iowa), state highway in the U.S. state of Iowa that extends from Keosauqua, Iowa, Keosauqua to Anamosa, Iowa, Anamosa. It travels nearly , mainly through rich farmland and small communities. Iow ...

Iowa Highway 22 Iowa Highway 22 (Iowa 22) is a west–east state highway that traverses primarily rural areas in east-central Iowa. The highway begins near Thornburg at an intersection with Iowa Highway 21 and ends in southwestern Davenport, at U.S. High ...

Iowa Highway 27 O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

Iowa Highway 78 Iowa Highway 78 (Iowa 78) is a state highway which runs from east to west in southeastern Iowa. The route begins east of Martinsburg at Iowa Highway 149, and ends at U.S. Highway 61 east of Morning Sun. The route has existed since the 1920s, ...

Iowa Highway 92 Iowa Highway 92 (Iowa 92) is a state highway (Iowa), state highway that runs from east to west across the state of Iowa. Iowa 92 is long and is part of a continuous four-state "Highway 92" which begins in Torrington, Wyoming, goes throug ...

Adjacent counties

* Iowa County (northwest) * Johnson County (northeast) * Louisa County (east) * Henry County (southeast) * Jefferson County (southwest) * Keokuk County (west)

Demographics

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 20,670 people, 8,056 households, and 5,631 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 8,543 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.04%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 1.51% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 2.73% 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 8,056 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% 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, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,103, and the median income for a family was $45,636. Males had a median income of $29,592 versus $22,818 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 $18,221. About 5.10% of families and 7.60% 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 10.30% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 21,704 in the county, with a population density of . There were 9,516 housing units, of which 8,741 were occupied.

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 22,565 in the county, with a population density of . 95.31% of the population reported being of one race. 83.15% were non-Hispanic White, 0.83% were Black, 7.14% were Hispanic, 0.31% were Native American, 0.51% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 8.04% were some other race or more than one race. There were 9,573 housing units, of which 8,916 were occupied.

Education

The county is served by 3 school districts * Highland Community School District * Mid-Prairie Community School District *Washington Community School District. Highland Community School District includes: * Highland Elementary School *Highland Middle School *Highland High School

Communities

Cities

* Ainsworth *

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 ...

* Coppock * Crawfordsville * Kalona * Keota (mostly in Keokuk County) * Riverside *

* Wellman * West Chester

Unincorporated communities

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

* Rubio * Haskins

Townships

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

* Crawford * Dutch Creek * English River *

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

* Lime Creek *

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

* Seventy-Six *

Population ranking

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

Politics

References

External links

Washington County government's website
{{Coord, 41, 20, 05, N, 91, 43, 11, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1838 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1838 Iowa City metropolitan area