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Calhoun County, Iowa facts for kids

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Calhoun County
Calhoun County Courthouse
Central School in Lake City
Carnegie Library in Lake City
Corn field near Somers
Clockwise from top: Calhoun County Courthouse in Rockwell City, the former Lake City Public Library, a grain elevator in the small town of Somers rises from a field at sunset, and the historic Central School in Lake City
Map of Iowa highlighting Calhoun County
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Map of the United States highlighting Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Iowa
Founded 1855
Named for John C. Calhoun
Seat Rockwell City
Largest city Rockwell City
Area
 • Total 572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
 • Land 570 sq mi (1,500 km2)
 • Water 2.1 sq mi (5 km2)  0.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 9,927
 • Density 17.355/sq mi (6.701/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 4th

Calhoun County is a county located in the state of Iowa. In 2020, about 9,927 people lived there. The main town, or county seat, is Rockwell City.

History of Calhoun County

Calhoun County was created on January 15, 1851. It was first called Fox County. In 1853, it was renamed after John C. Calhoun, who was the seventh US vice president.

In 1870, train tracks for the Illinois Central Railroad were built through the county. Because of this, the county seat moved from Lake City to Rockwell City. The first train arrived in Rockwell City on August 7, 1882. The number of people living in the county doubled that same year!

The first courthouse, which was made of wood, burned down in 1884. The county government then moved into a nearby hotel. The current courthouse was built in 1913.

On July 6, 1893, the town of Pomeroy was hit by a very strong tornado. This tornado was rated F5 on the Fujita scale, which is the highest level. It was about 500 yards wide and traveled for 55 miles. The tornado destroyed about 80% of the homes in Pomeroy. Sadly, 71 people died and 200 were hurt.

Geography of Calhoun County

Calhoun County covers a total area of about 572 square miles. Most of this (570 square miles) is land, and a small part (2.1 square miles) is water.

Nature and Land

Calhoun County is part of a flat area in Iowa called the Des Moines Lobe. This area was shaped by glaciers a long time ago. It's mostly flat or gently rolling, with some small hills and dips left by the glaciers. Unlike some other parts of Iowa, it doesn't have much loess, which is a type of fine soil.

The rivers and streams here are not very well developed. Most of the natural lakes in Iowa are found in the northern part of this region. A long time ago, this area had many wetlands and wet prairies. But now, most of the land has been changed for farming. Many wetlands and natural lakes have been drained using special pipes or ditches to make more farmland.

Main Roads

Here are the main highways that go through Calhoun County:

  • US 20.svg U.S. Highway 20
  • Circle sign 4.svg Iowa Highway 4
  • Circle sign 7.svg Iowa Highway 7
  • Elongated circle 175.svg Iowa Highway 175

Neighboring Counties

Calhoun County shares borders with these counties:

Population Information

Historical population
Census Pop.
1860 147
1870 1,602 989.8%
1880 5,595 249.3%
1890 13,107 134.3%
1900 18,569 41.7%
1910 17,090 −8.0%
1920 17,783 4.1%
1930 17,605 −1.0%
1940 17,584 −0.1%
1950 16,925 −3.7%
1960 15,923 −5.9%
1970 14,287 −10.3%
1980 13,542 −5.2%
1990 11,508 −15.0%
2000 11,115 −3.4%
2010 9,670 −13.0%
2020 9,927 2.7%
2023 (est.) 9,763 1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2018
CalhounCountyIowaPop2020
Population of Calhoun County from US census data

2020 Census Details

CalhounCountyIA2022PopPyr
2022 US Census population pyramid for Calhoun County from ACS 5-year estimates

In 2020, the census counted 9,927 people living in Calhoun County. This means there were about 17 people for every square mile. Most people (97.22%) said they belonged to one race. About 91.88% were non-Hispanic White, 1.53% were Black, and 2.38% were Hispanic. There were 4,771 homes in the county, and 4,070 of them were lived in.

2010 Census Details

In 2010, the county's population was 9,670. There were 5,108 homes, and 4,242 of them were occupied.

Towns and Communities

Cities

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially cities:

Townships

Calhoun County is divided into sixteen areas called townships:

  • Butler
  • Calhoun
  • Cedar
  • Center
  • Elm Grove
  • Garfield
  • Greenfield
  • Jackson
  • Lake Creek
  • Lincoln
  • Logan
  • Reading
  • Sherman
  • Twin Lakes
  • Union
  • Williams

Population Ranking of Towns

This table shows how many people lived in each city or town in Calhoun County in 2020.

county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2020 Census)
1 Rockwell City City 2,240
2 Lake City City 1,731
3 Manson City 1,709
4 Pomeroy City 526
5 Farnhamville (partially in Webster County) City 383
6 Lohrville City 381
7 Twin Lakes CDP 316
8 Lytton (mostly in Sac County) City 40 (282 total)
9 Somers City 128
10 Knierim City 53
11 Rinard City 38
12 Jolley City 28
13 Yetter City 19

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Calhoun (Iowa) para niños In Spanish: Condado de Calhoun (Iowa) para niños

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