Lucas County, Iowa

Founding: 1849 (declared in 1846)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: Robert Lucas, Iowa territorial governor
Seat: Chariton (1850–)

Land area: 431 square miles

Population (2020): 8,634

Population (historic): 5,766 (1860); 14,530 (1880); 16,126 (1900); 15,114 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1850–1900; 1910s; 1970s; 1990s

Subdivisions: Five cities; 12 townships

National Register listings: 16

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,464 (34.7%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 42.6%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 2.6%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 7.6%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 6.5%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,564
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,182
Average farmhouse size (1940): 5.8 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,617
Average farm size (1920): 119.9 acres
Sources of settlement: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania
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Chariton

Namesake: The Chariton River

Founding: 1849 (platting); 1849 (post office); 1850 (replatting); 1857 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 4,193

Population (historic): 641 (1860); 2,977 (1880); 3,989 (1900); 5,365 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1849–1900; 1910–1940; 1970s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 874 (39.4%)
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