Buchanan County, Iowa

 

Founding: 1847 (declared in 1837)
Parent county: Dubuque

Namesake: James Buchanan, U.S. president
Seat: Independence (1847–)

Land area: 571 square miles

Population (2020): 20,565

Population (historic): 517 (1850); 17,034 (1870); 18,997 (1890); 19,748 (1910); 19,550 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1900; 1910s; 1930–1960; 1970s; 1990s

Subdivisions: 11 cities; 16 townships

National Register listings: 22

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,459 (27.1%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 55.1%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 5.9%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 4.2%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 3.7%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,812
Average outbuilding value (1930): $2,459
Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.9 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 2,232
Average farm size (1920): 125.7 acres
Sources of settlement: New York, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ireland, Germany, and Wisconsin
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Independence

Namesake: The concept of independence

Founding: 1847 (platting); 1847 (post office); 1864 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 6,064

Population (historic): 1,395 (1860); 3,128 (1880); 3,656 (1900); 3,691 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1900; 1910–1980; 2010s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 841 (28.9%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. *Abiathar Richardson House (1851). 2791 136th Road. Buffalo.