Clarke County, Iowa Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Clarke County
U.S. county
Clarke County Courthouse in Osceola
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	January 13, 1846
Named for	James Clarke
Seat	Osceola
Largest city	Osceola
Area
• Total	432 sq mi (1,120 km²)
• Land	431 sq mi (1,120 km²)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km²) 0.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,748
• Density	22.565/sq mi (8.712/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Clarke County is a county in the state of Iowa. In 2020, about 9,748 people lived here. The main town and county seat is Osceola.

Clarke County was created in January 1846. It was one of twelve counties made at that time. The county was named after James Clarke. He was a governor of the Iowa Territory.

History of Clarke County
Geography and Location
Towns and Communities
Population and Demographics
See also

History of Clarke County

The first building used as a courthouse in Clarke County was a two-story wooden building in Osceola. In 1883, a new brick courthouse was built in the town square.

By the 1950s, this building was too small. A new, modern courthouse was finished in 1956. This building, the current courthouse, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Geography and Location

Clarke County covers about 432 square miles. Most of this area is land, about 431 square miles. A small part, about 0.6 square miles, is water.

Counties Nearby

Clarke County shares borders with several other counties:

Decatur County to the south
Lucas County to the east
Madison County to the northwest
Union County to the west
Warren County to the northeast

Major Roads and Highways

Several important roads pass through Clarke County:

Interstate 35: This highway runs north and south through the middle of the county. It goes through Osceola.
U.S. Highway 34: This highway runs east and west through the middle of the county. It also passes through Osceola.
U.S. Highway 69: This highway enters the county from the northeast. It goes southwest to Osceola, then south to the county line.

Public Transportation

Osceola station: This is a train station in Osceola.

Towns and Communities

Clarke County has several towns and smaller communities.

Cities in Clarke County

Smaller Unincorporated Communities

Hopeville
Jamison
Lacelle
Liberty
Ottawa
Smyrna

Townships in Clarke County

Townships are smaller areas within a county. Clarke County has twelve townships:

Doyle
Franklin
Fremont
Green Bay
Jackson
Knox
Liberty
Madison
Osceola
Troy
Ward
Washington

Population and Demographics

The population of Clarke County has changed over the years.

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	79	—
1860	5,427	6,769.6%
1870	8,735	61.0%
1880	11,513	31.8%
1890	11,332	−1.6%
1900	12,440	9.8%
1910	10,736	−13.7%
1920	10,506	−2.1%
1930	10,384	−1.2%
1940	10,233	−1.5%
1950	9,369	−8.4%
1960	8,222	−12.2%
1970	7,581	−7.8%
1980	8,612	13.6%
1990	8,287	−3.8%
2000	9,133	10.2%
2010	9,286	1.7%
2020	9,748	5.0%
2023 (est.)	9,588	3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2018

This graph shows how the population of Clarke County has changed over time, based on US census data.

Population in 2020

In 2020, the county's population was 9,748 people. This means there were about 22 people living per square mile. Most people (about 93%) reported being of one race. There were 4,268 homes in the county, and 3,871 of them were lived in.

This chart shows the age groups in Clarke County in 2022. It's called a population pyramid.

Population in 2010

In 2010, Clarke County had 9,286 people. There were 4,086 homes, and 3,701 of them were lived in.

Ranking of Cities by Population

The table below shows the cities in Clarke County, ranked by how many people lived there in 2020.

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Osceola	City	5,415
2	Murray	City	684
3	Woodburn	City	146
4	Weldon (mostly in Decatur County)	City	136

Clarke County, Iowa facts for kids

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