Madison County, Iowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madison County
U.S. county
Madison County courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1846
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Winterset
Largest city	Winterset
Area
• Total	562 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Land	561 sq mi (1,450 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,548
• Density	29.445/sq mi (11.369/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,548. The county seat is Winterset.

Madison County is included in the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Madison County is famous for being the county where John Wayne was born, and for a number of covered bridges. These bridges were featured in Robert James Waller's 1992 novella The Bridges of Madison County, as well as the 1995 film and 2014 musical based on it.

History

Madison County was formed on January 13, 1846. It has been self-governed since 1849. It was named after James Madison (1751–1836), the fourth President of the United States (between 1809 and 1817). Hiram Hurst, a suspected murderer, arsonist and hog thief was the first white settler in Madison County, having come from Missouri about April 15, 1846.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 562 square miles (1,460 km²), of which 561 square miles (1,450 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 80 (in the far northwestern corner of the county)
• U.S. Highway 6
• U.S. Highway 169
• Iowa Highway 92

Adjacent counties

• Dallas County (north)
• Warren County (east)
• Clarke County (southeast)
• Union County (southwest)
• Adair County (west)
• Polk County (northeast)

Demographics

Population of Madison County from US census data

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 16,548 in the county, with a population density of 29.3556/sq mi (11.3343/km²). 95.99% of the population reported being of one race. 92.42% were non-Hispanic White, 0.30% were Black, 1.91% were Hispanic, 0.15% were Native American, 0.51% were Asian, 0.08% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.63% were some other race or more than one race. There were 6,913 housing units, of which 6,436 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 15,679 in the county, with a population density of 27.9413/sq mi (10.7882/km²). There were 6,554 housing units, of which 6,025 were occupied.

Covered bridges

Hogback Bridge, one of the six remaining covered bridges in Madison County

There are only six extant covered bridges in Madison County:

• Cedar Bridge built 1883, destroyed 2002, rebuilt 2004, 76 feet (23 m) long.
• Cutler-Donahoe Bridge built 1870, 79 feet (24 m) long.
• Hogback Covered Bridge built 1884, 97 feet (30 m) long.
• Holliwell Bridge built 1880, 122 feet (37 m) long.
• Imes Bridge built 1870, 81 feet (25 m) long.
• Roseman Covered Bridge built 1883, 107 feet (33 m) long. This is the best-known one, as it is featured in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

The bridges were designed primarily by Eli Cox. Eli and his sons built several of the bridges including Imes and Cutler-Donahoe. Some of the bridges were built by Benton Jones.

Tunnel

Madison county is home to the only highway tunnel in Iowa, Harmon Tunnel, through the neck of an incised meander of the Middle River in Pammel Park.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

• Barney
• Old Peru
• Webster

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Madison County.

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Madison (Iowa) para niños