Van Buren County, Iowa

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Van Buren County, Iowa
Van Buren County Courthouse
Location in the state of Iowa
Iowa's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 7, 1836
Named for	Martin Van Buren
Seat	Keosauqua
Largest city	Keosauqua
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	491 sq mi (1,272 km²) 485 sq mi (1,256 km²) 5.7 sq mi (15 km²), 1.2
Population  - (2020)  - Density	7,203
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	https://www.vanburencounty.iowa.gov/

Van Buren County ( /væn ˈbjʊərən/ van-_-BURE-ən) is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 7,203, making it the state's tenth-least populous county. The county seat is Keosauqua, which contains the oldest continuously operational courthouse in the state of Iowa, and second oldest in the United States.

History

Plaque on the Van Buren County courthouse, indicating its age and historic status.

Van Buren County was formed on December 7, 1836, as a part of Wisconsin Territory, and was split off from Des Moines County. It was named for President Martin Van Buren. It became a part of Iowa Territory (later the state of Iowa) when that territory was organized on July 4, 1838.

The county's courthouse was built in September 1843 in the style of Greek Revival and stands as Iowa's oldest, and the nation's second oldest, courthouse in operation.

"The Honey War" refers to a colorful episode in Van Buren County's history when the State of Missouri and Wisconsin Territory border came into dispute. Missouri attempted to collect taxes from residents north of the disputed Sullivan Line of 1816, which residents said was not rightfully theirs to tax. The sheriff of Van Buren County subsequently arrested and jailed the sheriff from Kahoka, Missouri, and Missourians were charged with "stealing honey from bee trees" in what is now Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. Each governor sent troops to resolve the problem but no bloodshed resulted. The matter was turned over to the U.S. Congress for arbitration. The dispute, however, was not resolved until 1846, when Iowa became a state. Congress ruled "in favor of Iowa, allowing the original Sullivan line of 1816 to remain intact".

Van Buren County is also home to Iowa's oldest community theater group still in operation, the "Van Buren Players," founded in 1963.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 491 square miles (1,270 km²), of which 485 square miles (1,260 km²) is land and 5.7 square miles (15 km²) (1.2%) is water.

Major highways

• Iowa Highway 1
• Iowa Highway 2
• Iowa Highway 16
• Iowa Highway 98

Adjacent counties

• Jefferson County (north)
• Henry County (northeast)
• Lee County (east)
• Clark County, Missouri (southeast)
• Scotland County, Missouri (southwest)
• Davis County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	12,270		—
1860	17,081		39.2%
1870	17,672		3.5%
1880	17,043		−3.6%
1890	16,253		−4.6%
1900	17,354		6.8%
1910	15,020		−13.4%
1920	14,060		−6.4%
1930	12,603		−10.4%
1940	12,053		−4.4%
1950	11,007		−8.7%
1960	9,778		−11.2%
1970	8,643		−11.6%
1980	8,626		−0.2%
1990	7,676		−11.0%
2000	7,809		1.7%
2010	7,570		−3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Population of Van Buren County from US census data

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 7,203 in the county, with a population density of 14.6895/sq mi (5.6717/km²). 97.24% of the population reported being of one race. 94.53% were non-Hispanic White, 0.39% were Black, 1.58% were Hispanic, 0.10% were Native American, 0.33% were Asian, 0.00% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3.07% were some other race or more than one race. There were 3,500 housing units, of which 2,984 were occupied.

2010 census

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Van Buren County

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,570 people, 3,108 households, and 2,058 families residing in the county. The population density was 15.614/sq mi (6.029/km²) people per square mile. There were 3,670 housing units at an average density of 7.570/sq mi (2.923/km²) per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.3% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,108 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 33.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18 and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.3 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males.

As of the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $31,094, and the median income for a family was $36,420. Males had a median income of $27,379 versus $20,925 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,748. About 8.70% of families and 12.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.00% of those under age 18 and 15.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Birmingham
• Bonaparte
• Cantril
• Farmington
• Keosauqua
• Milton
• Stockport

Census-designated places

• Douds
• Leando
• Mount Sterling

Unincorporated communities

• Iowaville
• Lebanon
• Mt. Zion
• Pittsburg
• Selma
• Winchester

Townships

According to the 1850 US Census Records.

• Birmingham Township
• Bonaparte Township
• Cedar Township
• Chequest Township
• Des Moines Township
• Farmington Township
• Harrisburg Township
• Jackson Township
• Keosauqua Township
• Lick Creek Township
• Union Township
• Van Buren Township
• Vernon Township
• Village Township
• Washington Township

Population ranking

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

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 Census)
1	† Keosauqua	City	936
2	Farmington	City	579
3	Milton	City	380
4	Birmingham	City	367
5	Bonaparte	City	359
6	Stockport	City	272
7	Cantril	City	224
8	Douds	CDP	156
9	Leando	CDP	121
10	Mount Sterling	CDP	33

Politics

Van Buren County has been predominantly Republican throughout its history, only voting for the Democratic candidate only six times in presidential elections from 1896 onward. However, the county was a national bellwether between 1964 & 2004, but voted Republican by wide margins in years the nation went Republican. Aside from Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964, the margins of victory Democrats won the county by in this 40-year period were incredibly narrow, with the difference being less than one hundred votes when Jimmy Carter & Bill Clinton won the county. From 2000 on, the county has trended strongly Republican, particularly in 2016 where Hillary Clinton received the lowest percentage by a Democratic candidate in 60 years. Clinton also failed to win even 1,000 votes, a feat which every major party candidate prior to 2016 had been able to accomplish in the county.

United States presidential election results for Van Buren County, Iowa

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,859	75.42%	875	23.08%	57	1.50%
2016	2,527	70.96%	845	23.73%	189	5.31%
2012	2,064	57.83%	1,402	39.28%	103	2.89%
2008	1,986	54.98%	1,546	42.80%	80	2.21%
2004	2,211	57.64%	1,568	40.88%	57	1.49%
2000	2,016	56.61%	1,440	40.44%	105	2.95%
1996	1,460	43.26%	1,536	45.51%	379	11.23%
1992	1,418	38.22%	1,464	39.46%	828	22.32%
1988	1,692	50.75%	1,612	48.35%	30	0.90%
1984	2,138	56.73%	1,606	42.61%	25	0.66%
1980	2,142	58.21%	1,311	35.63%	227	6.17%
1976	1,804	49.14%	1,807	49.22%	60	1.63%
1972	2,272	63.18%	1,268	35.26%	56	1.56%
1968	2,294	59.29%	1,331	34.40%	244	6.31%
1964	1,700	39.93%	2,555	60.02%	2	0.05%
1960	3,129	63.94%	1,760	35.96%	5	0.10%
1956	3,233	63.79%	1,833	36.17%	2	0.04%
1952	3,870	70.62%	1,577	28.78%	33	0.60%
1948	2,702	57.64%	1,917	40.89%	69	1.47%
1944	3,095	60.43%	1,997	38.99%	30	0.59%
1940	4,108	62.72%	2,416	36.89%	26	0.40%
1936	3,535	55.05%	2,804	43.66%	83	1.29%
1932	2,375	42.56%	3,135	56.17%	71	1.27%
1928	3,904	66.45%	1,944	33.09%	27	0.46%
1924	3,623	60.69%	1,209	20.25%	1,138	19.06%
1920	4,321	71.00%	1,682	27.64%	83	1.36%
1916	1,994	52.52%	1,735	45.69%	68	1.79%
1912	1,483	39.36%	1,495	39.68%	790	20.97%
1908	2,133	53.86%	1,730	43.69%	97	2.45%
1904	2,469	61.51%	1,416	35.28%	129	3.21%
1900	2,547	56.40%	1,893	41.92%	76	1.68%
1896	2,478	53.54%	2,076	44.86%	74	1.60%
1892	2,125	52.73%	1,789	44.39%	116	2.88%
1888	2,028	52.04%	1,775	45.55%	94	2.41%
1884	1,944	50.69%	1,813	47.28%	78	2.03%
1880	1,876	49.01%	1,529	39.94%	423	11.05%

Education

School districts include:

• Cardinal Community School District
• Davis County Community School District
• Fairfield Community School District
• Mount Pleasant Community School District
• Van Buren County Community School District

Former school districts:

• Harmony Community School District

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Van Buren County, Iowa

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Van Buren County, Iowa

• Villages of Van Buren Archived 2016-01-28 at the Wayback Machine