Poweshiek County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 18,662. The county seat is Montezuma. The county is named for the chief of the Meskwaki who signed the treaty ending the Black Hawk War. It lies along Interstate 80 between Des Moines and Iowa City. Poweshiek County's largest city is Grinnell.

History

Poweshiek County was formed in 1843. It was named for Meskwaki Chief Poweshiek (1791–1854), a chief of the Meskwaki people. The Poweshiek County Courthouse, completed in 1859, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Government and infrastructure

County business is overseen by three elected county supervisors. The county website provides names and contact information for the current supervisors.

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Poweshiek County Elected Officials

  • County Supervisors: Chairman Jeff Tindle (R), Vice-chair Jason Roudabush (D), Jacki Bolen (R)
  • County Attorney: Bart Klaver (R)
  • County Auditor: Missy Eilander (R)
  • County Recorder: Lora Wyckoff (R)
  • County Sheriff: Matt Maschmann (R)
  • County Treasurer: Sandy Ross (R)

Healthcare

Poweshiek County is served by Grinnell Regional Medical Center, an acute care hospital licensed for 81 beds. GRMC was established in 1967 after the merger of two hospitals.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is drained by the north fork of Skunk River, which crosses the southwest corner, and by English River and other streams.

Major highways

  • x20px Interstate 80
  • x20px U.S. Highway 6
  • x20px U.S. Highway 63
  • x20px Iowa Highway 21
  • x20px Iowa Highway 85
  • x20px Iowa Highway 146

Adjacent counties

  • Tama County (north)
  • Iowa County (east)
  • Keokuk County (southeast)
  • Mahaska County (south)
  • Jasper County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

thumb|right|Population of Poweshiek County from the U.S. census data

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 18,662. The median age was 40.7 years, 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18, and 21.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 92.2% White, 1.8% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population. Overall, 96.55% of the county's population reported being of one race.

There were 7,536 households in the county, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.9% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,815 people, 7,398 households, and 4,882 families in the county. The population density was . There were 8,556 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.74% White, 0.55% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 1.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 7,398 households 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 29.2% of households were one person and 13.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.88.

The age distribution was 22.7% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median household income was $37,836 and the median family income was $46,599. Males had a median income of $32,781 versus $22,465 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,629. About 6.2% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Poweshiek County is served by three community school districts:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! District !! Location !! Num of<br/>campuses (inc. parochial)

! Num of<br/>students !! Student–<br/>teacher<br/>ratio !! High school !! District<br/>web site

|-

| BGM Community School District<br/>(Brooklyn–Guernsey–Malcom) || Brooklyn || 1 || 532 || - || BGM || BGM

|-

| Grinnell–Newburg Community School District || Grinnell || 6 || 1,475 || - || Grinnell || Grinnell

|-

| Montezuma Community School District || Montezuma || 1 || 537 || - || Montezuma || Montezuma

|}

Poweshiek County is home to Grinnell College, a small liberal arts college founded in 1846.

There is one private school in the county, Central Iowa Christian School, in Grinnell.

Communities

Cities

  • Barnes City
  • Brooklyn
  • Deep River
  • Grinnell
  • Guernsey
  • Hartwick
  • Malcom
  • Montezuma
  • Searsboro
  • Victor

Unincorporated communities

  • Carnforth
  • Ewart
  • Jacobs
  • Tilton

Population

Political Townships

  • Bear Creek
  • Chester
  • Deep River
  • Grant
  • Jackson
  • Jefferson
  • Lincoln
  • Madison
  • Malcom
  • Pleasant
  • Scott
  • Sheridan
  • Sugar Creek
  • Union
  • Warren
  • Washington

Census-designated places

  • Holiday Lake

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 United States census.