Montgomery County, Iowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Montgomery County
U.S. county
Montgomery 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	Richard Montgomery
Seat	Red Oak
Largest city	Red Oak
Area
• Total	425 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Land	424 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,330
• Density	24.31/sq mi (9.385/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Montgomery County is a county located in the southwestern area of the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,330. Its population has declined since a peak in 1900, since urbanization and decline of family farms. The county seat is Red Oak. The county was founded by European-American migrants from eastern areas in 1851. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while trying to capture Quebec City, Canada.

The county has been largely rural and devoted to agriculture. The county was first surveyed in 1852. It is famous as the location of the unsolved Villisca axe murders committed in 1912. Clyde Cessna, the founder of the Cessna Aircraft Company was born here.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 425 square miles (1,100 km²), of which 424 square miles (1,100 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 34
• U.S. Highway 71
• Iowa Highway 48

Adjacent counties

• Pottawattamie County (northwest)
• Cass County (northeast)
• Adams County (east)
• Page County (south)
• Mills County (west)

Demographics

Population of Montgomery County from US census data

2020 census

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 10,330 in the county, with a population density of 24.322/sq mi (9.391/km²). 96.38% of the population reported being of one race. 90.29% were non-Hispanic White, 0.24% were Black, 3.59% were Hispanic, 0.34% were Native American, 0.25% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 5.27% were some other race or more than one race. There were 5,007 housing units, of which 4,456 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 10,740 in the county, with a population density of 25.337/sq mi (9.783/km²). There were 5,239 housing units, of which 4,558 were occupied.

Communities

Cities

• Coburg
• Elliott
• Grant
• Red Oak
• Stanton
• Villisca

Unincorporated community

• Pittsburg
• Tenville

Former towns

• Alix (Douglas Township) 1895-98
• Arlington (Washington Township)
• Biddick (Pilot Grove Township) 1893-1902
• Carr's Point (West Township) 1865-70
• Climax (West Township) 1871-1901
• Coe's Grove 1858-69
• Flora 1859
• Frankfort (County seat from 1864 to 1865) (Frankfort Township) 1856-78
• Hawthorne 1871-1908
• Oro 1856-1858
• Ross Grove (Jackson Township) 1855-63
• Rossville (Jackson Township) 1855
• Sciola (Washington Township) 1855-1905
• Wales (Lincoln Township) 1886-1901
• Wallace (Douglas Township) 1875-78
• Wilson (Pilot Grove Township) 1870-79

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Montgomery County.

† county seat

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Montgomery (Iowa) para niños