Cass County, Iowa

Cass County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 14,684. Its is. It was named to honor, who was the 1848 Democratic nominee for President.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,463 (565 ). 1,462 km² (564 sq mi) of it is land and 2 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.12%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 14,684 people, 6,120 households, and 4,094 families residing in the county. The was 10/km² (26/sq mi). There were 6,590 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (12/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.84%, 0.21% or , 0.12% , 0.14% , 0.04% , 0.31% from , and 0.34% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 6,120 households out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,922, and the median income for a family was $40,564. Males had a median income of $29,736 versus $20,108 for females. The for the county was $17,067. About 7.20% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

History
Cass County is named in honor of, a  and an unsuccessful  in. The county was established within its present boundaries in and originated in. was responsible for bringing the first people of to Cass County. The, fleeing from , were the earliest settlers, and established a community at Indiantown in.

At Indiantown, two of the three commissioners selected to locate a were chosen. The site they chose was one mile from Indiantown and named. Most of the people and businesses in Indian Town moved to Lewis shortly after it was laid out. In 1856 a frame courthouse was built, and eight years later a small stone building was completed for the county treasurer’s office. In there was an attempt to relocate the county seat to Grove City; it was unsuccessful. On October 20,, after a due canvass of the vote on the re-location of the county seat, the Board declared the city of the seat of  and ordered the county officers to that place.

In the first courthouse built in Atlantic was completed. Until it was completed county offices were held in various empty buildings. Ten years later the county built its second courthouse at Atlantic. The $65,000 building was destroyed by a fire in. The fire started in the clock tower and gutted all of the second floor. Most of the county records and equipment were saved.

The present, fourth, courthouse was completed in. While it was being built, county offices were located in the Atlantic Motors building, where an attempted robbery of the treasurer’s safe took place. The robbers were interrupted and escaped, but without any money. The final cost of the fourth courthouse was $130,000: $65,000 came from a county bond issue, $46,500 from insurance and the remaining was covered by a  federal grant. The concrete and brick building is three stories high. It was dedicated on December 26,, with the main speaker being the ,. The Board of Supervisors approved a new jail addition, which was dedicated in.

Notable Natives

 * , inventor of

Cities and towns
41.32944°N, -94.92917°W