Cass County, Iowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cass County
U.S. county
Cass County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1851
Named for	Lewis Cass
Seat	Atlantic
Largest city	Atlantic
Area
• Total	565 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Land	564 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,127
• Density	23.234/sq mi (8.971/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,127. Its county seat is Atlantic. 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 senator 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 was responsible for bringing the first people of European ancestry to Cass County. The Mormons, fleeing from Illinois, were the earliest settlers, and established a community at Indiantown in 1846.

At Indiantown, two of the three commissioners selected to locate a county seat were chosen. The site they chose was one mile (1.6 km) 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 Atlantic 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 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 565 square miles (1,460 km²), of which 564 square miles (1,460 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

Transit

• List of intercity bus stops in Iowa

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

Population of Cass County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 13,127 in the county, with a population density of 23.2868/sq mi (8.9911/km²). 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 24.745/sq mi (9.554/km²). There were 6,591 housing units, of which 5,980 were occupied.

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

Townships

Cass County is divided into sixteen townships:

Population ranking

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

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Cass (Iowa) para niños