Washington County, Iowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Washington County
U.S. county
Washington County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	January 18, 1838
Named for	George Washington
Seat	Washington
Largest city	Washington
Area
• Total	571 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Land	569 sq mi (1,470 km2)
• Water	2.1 sq mi (5 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	22,565
• Estimate  (2023)	22,560
• Density	39.52/sq mi (15.258/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Washington County is a county located in the state of Iowa. In 2020, about 22,565 people lived here. The main city and county seat is Washington. Washington County is part of the Iowa City area.

History of Washington County

Washington County started in 1838. It was first called Slaughter County. This name honored William B. Slaughter, who was a secretary for the Wisconsin Territory.

On July 4, 1838, the county became part of the new Iowa Territory. A year later, on January 25, 1839, the county changed its name. They chose to honor George Washington, a very important leader.

The first European American settlers came to Washington County in 1835. They started building homes in 1836. A small town called Astoria was the first county seat. It had the first courthouse. But in 1839, the county seat moved to the city of Washington.

The first church group was started in 1839 by Reverend J.L. Kirkpatrick. The first newspaper began in 1853. It was printed for two years. Another newspaper started in 1856 and is still printed today!

Important rivers in Washington County are the Skunk River and English River. There is also Crooked Creek. Lots of trees grow near these waterways. This helped a timber (wood) industry grow. In 1855, the county's first bank opened in Washington. The number of people living in the county grew a lot after 1858. This was when a railway line was built through the area.

Geography of Washington County

Washington County covers about 571 square miles. Most of this area, 569 square miles, is land. Only a small part, about 2.1 square miles, is water.

Main Roads

• U.S. Highway 218
• Iowa Highway 1
• Iowa Highway 22
• Iowa Highway 27
• Iowa Highway 78
• Iowa Highway 92

Neighboring Counties

• Iowa County (to the northwest)
• Johnson County (to the northeast)
• Louisa County (to the east)
• Henry County (to the southeast)
• Jefferson County (to the southwest)
• Keokuk County (to the west)

Population of Washington County

This chart shows the age groups of people in Washington County in 2022.

2010 Census Information

In 2010, the county had 21,704 people. There were about 9,516 homes, and 8,741 of them were lived in.

2020 Census Information

In 2020, the population grew to 22,565 people. Most people, about 83%, were non-Hispanic White. About 7% were Hispanic. There were 9,573 homes, and 8,916 of them were lived in.

Schools in Washington County

There are three main school districts that serve the county:

• Highland Community School District
• Mid-Prairie Community School District
• Washington Community School District

Highland Community School District includes:

• Highland Elementary School
• Highland Middle School
• Highland High School

Towns and Communities

Cities

Small Communities (Unincorporated)

Townships

City Population Ranking

This table shows how many people live in each city in Washington County, based on the 2020 census.

† This symbol means it's the county seat (main city).

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Washington (Iowa) para niños