Chickasaw County, Iowa

Chickasaw County, Iowa
Chickasaw County court house built in 1929
Location in the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 15, 1851
Named for	Chickasaw people
Seat	New Hampton
Largest city	New Hampton
Area
• Total	506 sq mi (1,311 km2)
• Land	504 sq mi (1,305 km2)
• Water	1.3 sq mi (3 km2), 0.3
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	chickasawcounty.iowa.gov

Chickasaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,012. Its county seat is New Hampton. The county was named for the southern Indian Nation whose chief was Bradford.

History

Chickasaw County was founded in January 1851. It was named after the Chickasaw tribe, which lived in the Southern United States at the time.

The first nonindigenous settlers arrived in 1848 and the first county seat was from 1854 in Bradford, in the southwestern corner of the county. In the spring of 1857, the seat was moved to New Hampton, located near the geographic center, and was then called Chickasaw Center. The first county offices were housed in private houses and in the school building. The first courthouse, a wood-frame building, was erected in 1865. That building was enlarged in 1876, but a fire on March 26, 1880, destroyed it (townspeople managed to save the records). A brick/stone replacement structure was completed in 1881, and included a soaring clock tower. This building was enlarged in 1905 and again in 1906, but by the twenties it again was too small. The present structure, featuring Bedford stone, was built in 1929 and put into use in 1930.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 506 square miles (1,310 km²), of which 504 square miles (1,310 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) (0.3%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Bremer County (south)
• Butler County (southwest)
• Fayette County (southeast)
• Floyd County (west)
• Howard County (north)
• Mitchell County (northwest)
• Winneshiek County (northeast)

Highways

• U.S. Highway 18
• U.S. Highway 63
• U.S. Highway 218
• Iowa Highway 24
• Iowa Highway 27
• Iowa Highway 346

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	4,336		—
1870	10,180		134.8%
1880	14,534		42.8%
1890	15,019		3.3%
1900	17,037		13.4%
1910	15,375		−9.8%
1920	15,431		0.4%
1930	14,637		−5.1%
1940	15,227		4.0%
1950	15,228		0.0%
1960	15,034		−1.3%
1970	14,969		−0.4%
1980	15,437		3.1%
1990	13,295		−13.9%
2000	13,095		−1.5%
2010	12,439		−5.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2018

File:ChickasawCountyIowaPop2020.png

Population of Chickasaw County from US census data

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 12,012 in the county, with a population density of 23.7488/sq mi (9.1695/km²). 96.29% of the population reported being of one race. 89.67% were non-Hispanic White, 0.67% were Black, 4.00% were Hispanic, 0.17% were Native American, 0.25% were Asian, 0.06% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 5.18% were some other race or more than one race. There were 5,534 housing units of which 5,022 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 12,439 in the county, with a population density of 24.632/sq mi (9.510/km²). There were 5,679 housing units, of which 5,204 were occupied.

2000 census

File:USA Chickasaw County, Iowa age pyramid.svg

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Chickasaw County

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,095 people, 5,192 households, and 3,644 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile (1.0×10⁻⁵ people/km²). There were 5,593 housing units at an average density of 11 units per square mile (4.2×10⁻⁶ units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.75% White, 0.05% Black or African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,192 households, out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,649, and the median income for a family was $44,306. Males had a median income of $30,099 versus $21,309 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,237. About 5.90% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Chickasaw County posted the highest county unemployment rate in Iowa in the 2000 Census with 8% of the workforce unemployed. This figure, however, was still relatively low compared to the problems faced by many other counties in the Midwest.

Communities

Cities

• Alta Vista
• Bassett
• Fredericksburg
• Ionia
• Lawler
• Nashua
• New Hampton
• North Washington
• Protivin

Unincorporated communities

• Boyd
• Bradford
• Deerfield
• Jerico
• Little Turkey
• Saude

Townships

• Bradford
• Chickasaw
• Dayton
• Deerfield
• Dresden
• Fredericksburg
• Jacksonville
• New Hampton
• Richland
• Stapleton
• Utica
• Washington

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† New Hampton	City	3,494
2	Nashua (partially in Floyd County)	City	1,551
3	Fredericksburg	City	987
4	Lawler	City	406
5	Ionia	City	226
6	Protivin (mostly in Howard County)	City	269
7	Alta Vista	City	227
8	North Washington	City	112
9	Bassett	City	45

Politics

Chickasaw County was a bellwether county from 1948 to 1984, voting for the nationwide winner in every election in that span. From 1988 to 2012, the county favored Democrats, as the Democratic nominee won the county by at least 10% in each election in that span except for 2000. Then, in 2016, Chickasaw County swung significantly to the right, shifting from Barack Obama winning the county by 11% in 2012 to Donald Trump winning by 23% in 2016, a shift of 34% to the right. Trump won over 58% of the county's vote, turning in the best performance for a Republican since the 1952 landslide election of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Trump further improved on this performance in 2020, taking nearly 65% of the vote and winning by a margin of over 31%, the best vote share and margin of victory for any candidate in Chickasaw County since the 1932 landslide election of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Chickasaw County, Iowa
• The Chickasaw County Courthouse Article
• Iowa GenWeb - Chickasaw County
• Chickasaw County website