Madison County, Iowa

Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,548.<ref name=cen2020>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Winterset.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> Madison County is included in the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Hiram Hurst was the first European-American settler in Madison County, having come from Missouri about April 15, 1846.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.2%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:I-80.svg Interstate 80 (in the far northwestern corner of the county)
• File:US 6.svg U.S. Highway 6
• File:US 169.svg U.S. Highway 169
• File:Elongated circle 92.svg Iowa Highway 92

Adjacent counties

• Dallas County (north)
• Warren County (east)
• Clarke County (southeast)
• Union County (southwest)
• Adair County (west)
• Polk County (northeast, meeting in a 4-corners)

Demographics

File:MadisonCountyIowaPop2020.png

Population of Madison County from US census data

2020 census

File:MadisonCountyIA2022PopPyr.png

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

The 2020 census recorded a population of 16,548 in the county, with a population density of Template:Pop density. 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.<ref name=cen2020/>

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 15,679 in the county, with a population density of Template:Pop density. There were 6,554 housing units, of which 6,025 were occupied.<ref name="USCB">Template:Cite web</ref>

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 14,019 people, 5,326 households, and 3,925 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 5,661 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.57% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 5,326 households 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.90% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 22.70% of households were one person and 11.70% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.04.

The age distribution was 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.

The median household income was $41,845 and the median family income was $48,289. Males had a median income of $31,126 versus $24,095 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,357. About 4.60% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.60% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

Covered bridges

File:Holliwell Bridge 2.jpg

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

There are six extant covered bridges in Madison County, of the original nineteen:

• Cedar Bridge built 1883, destroyed 2002, rebuilt 2004, Template:Convert long. The rebuilt bridge was destroyed by a fire in 2017.
• Cutler-Donahoe Bridge built 1870, Template:Convert long.
• Hogback Covered Bridge built 1884, Template:Convert long.
• Holliwell Bridge built 1880, Template:Convert long. Featured in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.
• Imes Bridge built 1870, Template:Convert long.
• Roseman Covered Bridge built 1883, Template:Convert long, is the best known one, as it is featured in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

The remaining covered bridges were designed by Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster, with the following exceptions: Eli Cox built the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge, and J. P. Clark built the Imes Bridge.

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.<ref>Pammel Park web page of the Madison County Conservation Board.</ref>

Communities

Incorporated Communities

• Bevington
• Earlham
• East Peru
• Macksburg
• Patterson
• St. Charles
• Truro
• Winterset

Unincorporated communities

• Barney
• Old Peru
• Pitzer
• Webster

Townships

• Crawford
• Douglas
• Grand River
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Lee
• Lincoln
• Madison
• Monroe
• Ohio
• Penn
• Scott
• South
• Union
• Walnut
• Webster

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Madison County.<ref name=cen2020/>

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Winterset	City	5,353
2	Earlham	City	1,410
3	St. Charles	City	640
4	Truro	City	509
5	Patterson	City	176
6	East Peru	City	115
7	Macksburg	City	97
8	Bevington (partially in Warren County)	City	57

Politics

For most of its history, Madison County has primarily supported the Republican Party in presidential elections. From 1880 to 1960, the county only failed to back the party's candidate in 1932 when Herbert Hoover was defeated in a national landslide for reelection by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The county was much more of a swing area between 1964 and 1996, voting for the national winner in every presidential election between 1964 and 2004 aside from 1988 when Michael Dukakis was boosted to an inflated margin of victory statewide by a farm crisis. Since the start of the third millennium, Republicans have carried the county in every presidential election. Donald Trump also produced the county's strongest Republican presidential victory since 1952 in 2016, winning by a margin of over 30 percent. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

See also

• Madison County Courthouse
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Madison County, Iowa

External links

• County website
• Madison County Chamber of Commerce
• Madison County Development Group